Insert Spiderman meme here to summarize what the Indian dressing room might be feeling like at this point. The bowlers might be pointing fingers at the batters, and the batters would ask why Elgar and Jansen were allowed to score so freely? But the truth is that the Indians were outclassed by a team much more in sync and readiness for the conditions. So the dream of the final frontier wages on, as we bid thee farewell and best wishes for the New Year. This is Saurabh Shankar signing off on behalf of Praveen Kumar.
Dean Elgar | Player of the Match:
Rohit Sharma: We were not good enough to win,
Stats courtesy Deepu Narayanan
South Africa seamers making Test debut vs India in Centurion 2018: Lungi Ngidi 1/51 & 6/39 2021: Marco Jansen 1/69 & 4/55 2023: Nandre Burger 3/50 & 4/33
11 wickets taken by left arm pacers is the joint most in a Test for South Africa equaling Cape Town Test against England 100 years ago in Jan 1923.
Lowest aggregate by batters #5 & below for India in a Test innings 13 runs vs Pak Lahore 1984 15 runs vs Aus Kanpur 1979 16 runs vs SA Centurion 2023 * 20 runs vs WI Kanpur 1958 21 runs vs Aus Adelaide 2020
Innings & 32 runs defeat for India - First under Rohit Sharma's captaincy - Only the third since the start of 2015 - First against SA since Jan 2011
India - last five Tests in SENA countries Lost by 7 wkts vs SA Joburg 2022 Lost by 7 wkts vs SA Cape Town 2022 Lost by 7 wkts vs Eng Birmingham 2022 Lost by 209 runs vs Aus The Oval 2023 Lost by an innings & 32 runs vs SA Centurion 2023
The Test started with India losing wickets in heaps, as Rabada and debutant Nandre Burger troubled them with their seam movement.
17:03 Local Time, 15:03 GMT, 20:33 IST: All over. For all the hype around India potentially breaching their final frontier, they have actually been bamboozled within three days. And they have been bruised, they have been battered, they have been outclassed and made to look like amateurs by a team much better equipped for the conditions.
34.1
Marco Jansen to Kohli, out Caught by Rabada!! That's the end!! A back of length straight delivery that Kohli dances out and slashes straight over the bowler. Kohli c Rabada b Marco Jansen 76(82) [4s-12 6s-1]
Marco Jansen to Kohli, THATS OUT!! Caught!!
Marco Jansen [7.0-1-36-2] is back into the attack
33.6
Nandre Burger to Prasidh, no run, full outside off, wobbling away. Past the outside edge of Prasidh
South Africa
India
