Virat Kohli’s 76-run knock went in vain as South Africa hammered India by an innings and 32 runs on Day 3 of the first Test match at SuperSport Park, Centurion. With the defeat, India’s dream of winning the maiden Test series on Proteas soil also got shattered. Debutant Nandre Burger was the standout performer with the ball as he claimed four wickets in the second innings.
The Indian batters, except Kohli, once again failed to put up a challenge and were bundled for just 131 in just 34.1 overs after South Africa took a 163-run lead after the first innings. The hosts have taken a 1-0 unassailable lead in the two-match series as the next game will start on January 3.
Kohli didn’t get much support from the other end as apart from him it was only Shubman Gill (26) who managed to score in double digits.
The former Indian captain hit 12 fours and a six during his 82-ball stay in the middle.
For South Africa, debutant Nandre Burger claimed four wickets. After a fifty with the bat, Marco Jansen also took three wickets. Meanwhile, Kagiso Rabada picked a couple to make it seven from the match.
The India top-order failed to put up any fight against a quality pace attack as Rohit Sharma (0) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (5) were dismissed cheaply for the second time in the match.
Meanwhile, Shubman, who got off to a good start, played an irresponsible shot to get castled by Marco Jansen for 26.
In the final session, it all went downhill for the visitors as Shreyas Iyer (6) and centurion from first innings KL Rahul (4) also registered single-digit scores to make things worse.
The tailenders also failed to give enough support to Kohli who kept scoring boundaries from one end.
Jansen drew the final blood by dismissing Kohli for 76 and sealed the win for the hosts.
Earlier, South Africa, riding on Dean Elgar’s superbly-crafted 185 and Marco Jansen’s career-best 84, posted a healthy first-innings score of 408.
Elgar and Jansen shared a 111-run stand for the fifth wicket to put South Africa in the driver’s seat.
Elgar was dismissed by Shardul Thakur on 185, while Jansen remained unbeaten on 84. The Indian bowling looked listless in the first hour of the day as they leaked runs and allowed Elgar and Jansen to stretch South Africa’s lead to over 100.
The Indian bowlers were even more disappointing on the third morning with Shardul Thakur (1/101 in 19 overs) and Prasidh Krishna (1/93 in 20 overs) spraying all over the place, only to be mercilessly punished by the former Proteas skipper Elgar and the lanky left-arm seamer Jansen.
The pair drove, pulled, cut at will and neither the old ball nor the semi-new ball could bring about any change in fortune for the visiting team bowlers.
Jasprit Bumrah (4/69 in 26.4 overs) and Mohammed Siraj (2/91 in 24 overs) once again were unlucky as they repeatedly beat the bat of Elgar and Jansen but didn’t have the rub of the green going their way.
Brief Scores:
India first innings: 245 all out.
South Africa first innings: 408 allout in 108.4 overs (Dean Elgar 185, Marco Jansen 84 not out; David Bedingham 56; Jasprit Bumrah 4/69, Mohammed Siraj 2/91).
India second innings: 131 all out in 34.1 overs (Virat Kohli 76, Shubman Gill 26; Nandre Burger 4/33, Marco Jansen 3/36, Kagiso Rabada 2/32).
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