South Africa team celebrates Test series win against India
South Africa head coach Mark Boucher on Friday registered a 2-1 series win from behind, notable as one of the best in its history of Test cricket, against world No 1 India.
trailing 0-1 after losing the Boxing Day opening test at Centurion, Dean AlgaryThe -led side showed extreme resilience to win back-to-back matches at Wanderers and Newlands to upset firm favourites.
“To put this in perspective, we have lost three tosses. Many people, including some media, had canceled us after the first day of the first Test of the series,” Boucher told the media after the match.
“So, coming back after losing the first Test badly and then winning the second Test and now the third Test is pretty incredible. It will rank there – should be in the top five. Where have we come from, on-field and off-field Stuff… it’s good to get some good results. The way the whole Test series was played it was hard fought, some good cricket, it should have been played there along with some of the best Test series in South Africa.”
This victory will give me a lot of confidence
Going into the series, the hosts lacked experience as they played their first Test in six months at Centurion. He played just six Tests under new captain Elgar as Australia opted not to travel for the four-match series last March.
Elgar began his journey with a 2–0 win over West Indies before losing to India in the Boxing Day Test.
“It’s definitely something we can take a lot of confidence from. This team is really on a mission. We’ve been through some tough times of late and they’ve run in a way that’s very special. Proud of where they come in a short span of time and results start coming in now which is fantastic. Our feet are firmly on the ground. We know we are not the finished product. We’ve got goals ahead. So we will enjoy this victory.”
In the fourth day’s play, South Africa started at 101 for two and completed the task with seven wickets.
“These guys deserve it. They’ve gone through a lot together as a unit. So it’s good to see it. It’s a close group of people. The World Cup was a big disappointment, although we played some good cricket. Something that was really needed in our dressing room to work hard.”
Not surprised by the character shown
In both Tests, the inexperienced side, led by Elgar, were set tricky targets of over 200 in bouncy conditions. Elgar led the way in Johannesburg, helping the team chase 240 runs in a seven-wicket win. Here, Keegan Pietersen top-scored with 82 runs – his third consecutive Test half-century – as the hosts chased down a target of 212.
“It doesn’t surprise me because you’ve also got Dean, who is the kind of character who moves from the front. You’ve got Temba (Bavuma) as the vice-captain, who is the same fighter with that spirit. , so you ‘I have two leaders that people are going to follow. People also stood up about their game.’
Boucher said, “To put these things into perspective, where is this team and where is the Indian team… they are probably the best team in World Test cricket at the moment. They have gone to England, beat England, Australia. beat in Australia. So it’s something our boys won’t take lightly.”
Loss of words for Keegan
For South Africa, Pietersen and 21-year-old left-arm pacer Marco Jensen were the find of the series.
Praising both, Boucher said: “You get two youngsters who have just come into the team. Both deserve their own little bit of spotlight.”
Pietersen, who was playing only the second series after a disappointing start against West Indies in June, impressed with his persistence and composure at No.
The 28-year-old scored three fifties in four innings and was adjudged man of the series each time, improving his score. He was also the man of the match in his series-winning win here.
“Kegan probably didn’t start as well in the West Indies as he wanted. Then he didn’t start very well at SuperSport Park. But he always showed signs of the player we’re seeing now. He’s just up to his guns He is in a good position to have a man like Dean beside him. He (Dean) really supports him. He is a tough nut and bats at No. 3 in test cricket, you have to be tough, you have to be tough on your game. Turns out, technically you have to be good too. Hopefully he gets better, better and better. It’s a very tough situation to play in South Africa in our conditions, batting at No. 3. The way he is Come through the series, I am short of words. In a big series, against big players and to get Man of the Series, he totally deserved it,” Boucher said of Pietersen.
Jansen. I found a superstar
Uncapped left-arm seamer Jensen was a revelation and grew from strength to strength after an impressive start in the Boxing Day Test.
“When you lose someone like Andre Nortje (hip injury), it was a big loss for us, but then you bring Marco into the team. We are in a really good place at the moment. A lot of people have His selection was questioned. In the first Test. He didn’t start very well and the media jumped on him a bit, which I thought was quite unfair.”
“But we saw what he had in Pakistan. He was with us in the West Indies, and it was only a matter of time before he arrived because we can see the skill and variety he has. Now that we see him and maybe Everyone is looking the same, what have we got is another addition to our bowling attack. He has a lot of cricket to learn from. We also find a superstar in him. He is only going to get better,” he added. .
At an impressive average of 16.47, Jansen finished with 19 wickets, behind his top wicket-taker. Kagiso Rabada (20).
We’ve turned a long time ago
The head coach further said that he has turned the corner after some forgettable performances in the recent past, including a group-stage exit in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
“I believe we have turned a corner a long time ago. Our results have been pretty solid for the last six months to a year. We had the chance to try a few players. I think it’s going to be good now.” Has started because we started getting the depth of cricketers that we can turn to,” he signed off.
,