Johannesburg: India maintained their unbeaten record at the Wanderers here by scripting a 63-run win over South Africa in the third and final Test here, Saturday. The visitors thus finished on a high and recovered a lot of pride after losing the first two games of the series.
Mohammed Shami (5/28) destroyed the middle and lower-order after the hosts had looked in command in the morning session when Dean Elgar (86 n o, 240b, 9×4, 1×6) and Hashim Amla (52, 140b, 5×4) had threatened to take the game away with a 119-run second wicket stand as South Africa chased a victory target of 241.
It took a brilliant effort on the part of Hardik Pandya at mid-wicket to end the partnership off the bowling of Ishant Sharma (2/21). As he has done so many times in the series, Amla flicked Ishant only to find Pandya come up with a blinder plucking the ball from thin air. It was the catch that gave the lift India so badly wanted.
Once the partnership was broken, the floodgates opened for India as expected on a pitch that was treacherous to say the least. Variable bounce, huge lateral movement, double-paced nature, it had everything for the bowlers. It was difficult for a settled batsman to survive… for a new batsman coming in, it was nightmares.
The next two batsmen to follow were victims of the bounce. AB de Villiers found one kicking up from the good length spot and even though he desperately tried to draw his bat away, the ball thudded into his gloves before being gobbled up by Ajinkya Rahane at slip. Skipper Faf du Plessis got one from Ishant that hugged the ground to crash into the stumps. It was all over bar the shouting for South Africa.
As wickets fell at the other end, Elgar, held firm. He was hit nastily on the grill Friday by a Bumrah delivery, but he just was not ready to give his wicket away. He scored 86, but keeping in mind the conditions it was well worth its weight in gold and more than even a triple hundred.
Shami returned after tea to destroy the South Africans. He first had Vernon Philander (10) dragging one back to the stumps, then bowled Andile Phehlukwayo (0) and Morne Morkel (0) with perfect yorkers. He mopped it up by having Lungi Ngidi (4) caught behind by Dinesh Karthik. After Amla’s dismissal, the South Africans had lost their last eight wickets for only 52 runs.
Earlier Friday, Virat Kohli (41), Rahane (48), Bhubaneswar Kumar (33) and Shami (27) all contributed to take India to 247 in their second innings to set South Africa a victory target of 241.
“The bowlers were the biggest positives; we haven’t done 60 wickets in the past. We want to correct certain mistakes. That lower-order showed character,” Kohli said after the game. “This win feels great. As batsmen, if we can think about countering conditions better, we can do away from home.”
Agencies
