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South Africa skittle India to run away with first-test spoils

cricket28 December 2023 15:42| © MWP
By:Neil Manthorp
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South Africa claimed a remarkable victory by an innings and 32 runs on the third day of the first test against India at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday when the tourists were bundled out for just 131 inside 35 overs with Nandre Burger claiming 4-33.

The left-arm fast bowler finished with match figures of 7-83 on debut and the great Kagiso Rabada claimed 5-59 in the first innings for a match haul of 7-91, but the match will be remembered as much for the brilliant innings of 185 from former captain Dean Elgar which set up the match-winning lead of 163 runs.

Marco Jansen also enjoyed an outstanding match with bat and ball finishing with an unbeaten, career-best 84 in South Africa’s first innings of 408 and then claiming 3-36 during India’s plunge to defeat.

The result ends India’s hopes of winning a series in South Africa for the first time at their ninth attempt with only the second test to come in at Newlands in Cape Town on 3 January.

The signs were ominous for the tourists when they slipped to 62-3 at tea but few predicted that the game would be over inside 90 minutes.

Rabada claimed the prize wicket of Rohit Sharma with an unplayable leg-cutter which nipped past the outside edge to it the top of off-stump and bowl the Indian captain for an eight-ball duck.

Fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (5) gloved an aggressive bouncer from Burger into the gloves of ‘keeper Kyle Verreynne and Shubman Gill (26) was bowled by a fast, full-length delivery from Jansen from around the wicket.

Shreyas Iyer (6) was bowled by a perfect Jansen yorker and first innings centurion KL Rahul could only edge a snorter from Burger to Aiden Markram at second slip.

Virat Kohli fought hard and counter-attacked in thrilling style but with wickets tumbling at the other end he finally holed to long-on for 76 from 82 balls (12x4, 1x6) where Rabada, fittingly, held a fine, running catch to end the match.

JANSEN STRANDED

Earlier. Jansen was left stranded with the bat on a brilliant, unbeaten 84 as Jasprit Bumrah (4-69) claimed the last two South Africa wickets to dismiss the home side for a mighty 408 after lunch.

Elgar and Jansen added a match-changing 111-runs for the sixth wicket in the morning session to put South Africa in complete control of the test match before Elgar was dismissed for a brilliant 185 which was the cue for Jansen to accelerate.

Resuming with an unbeaten 140, Elgar applied himself with the same diligence as he had at the start of his innings before, once again, taking full advantage of most scoring opportunities which came his way with a pair of cover drives especially memorable.

A Shardul Thakur bouncer finally ended the stand with Elgar cramped for room and gloving it down the leg side to ‘keeper KL Rahul but his first century at his home ground gave him a ‘full set’ of 100s at all of South Africa’s test venues with his 185 coming from 287 balls with 28 fours.

Jansen then ‘teed off’ and launched Thakur for a mighty, ‘pay-back’ six onto the grass embankment at deep midwicket and followed it with a rasping four through the covers against the same bowler.

Gerald Coetzee delivered an entertaining cameo of 19 from only 18 balls with a couple of fours and a sizzling six against offspinner R Ashwin over long on before driving the same bowler to mid off.

Injured captain Temba Bavuma, who damaged his left hamstring on the first day, did not appear at number 11 in what might have been a futile attempt to accompany Jansen to three figures with a belated statement from team management saying the risk of further damage to his injury was unacceptable.

Report Day 1

Report Day 2

SOUTH AFRICA: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (captain), Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wkt), Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger

INDIA:Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wkt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna Neil Manthorp

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