Off-spinner Simon Harmer picked an exceptional 6-37 as South Africa completed a commanding 408-run victory over India at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium to secure an emphatic 2-0 series sweep.
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GUWAHATI — Off-spinner Simon Harmer picked an exceptional 6-37 as South Africa completed a commanding 408-run victory over India at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium to secure an emphatic 2-0 series sweep on Wednesday.
Chasing 549, India were bundled out for 140 on day five’s play while veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja top-scored with 54. South Africa also handed the hosts their heaviest defeat in Tests by runs, and the reigning World Test Championship winners bagged their first Test series win in India since 2000.
South Africa also set a new record, registering their biggest win, by margin of runs, over India in Tests. Moreover, this is the second Test series win for the Proteas in India and first in 25 year. It was the Hansie Cronje-led side who did it first in 2000. Now Temba Bavuma joined him and kept his unbeaten Test record intact as skipper.
Right from the time South Africa won the toss, everything went their way, with India now left to ponder over the questions as their fortress-like reputation when playing Tests at home suffers another significant blow after their 3-0 loss to New Zealand last year.
Also read: 2nd Test: India down to 27/2 in chase of 549 at stumps
India are now left to ponder multiple questions, as their fortress-like reputation when playing Tests at home suffered another big blow after their 3-0 loss to New Zealand last year.
Resuming from 27/2, B Sai Sudharsan was dismissed by Marco Jansen but narrowly escaped when replays showed the fast bowler had overstepped, while Kuldeep Yadav received a reprieve when Aiden Markram dropped his catch at first slip.
Kuldeep’s nightwatchman duty ended at five when Harmer’s straighter delivery went through the gate to rattle the middle-stump. Three balls later, Harmer took another wicket as Dhruv Jurel looked to defend but got an outside edge and was caught by slip for two.
Rishabh Pant briefly lifted the hosts with his counterattack – punching Keshav Maharaj for four before dancing down the pitch to launch him for a towering six. But in a bid to defend a slower delivery from Harmer, Pant fell for 13 when extra bounce on the delivery took the shoulder edge of the bat and lobbed to slip.
Harmer could have taken his fourth wicket if Markram hadn’t dropped a difficult catch of Sudharsan, who became the third Indian batter to face over a hundred balls in this series, as South Africa took three wickets in the morning session.
Post tea, South Africa struck early in the fifth ball of the afternoon session as B Sai Sudharsan, who battled through the morning with a defensive approach, pressed forward once more to smother the spin from Senuran Muthusamy, but failed to cover the line and edged to slip, where Markram took his eighth catch of the match.
Jadeja tried delaying the inevitable by thumping and pulling off spinners for boundaries. He got his fifty in style by flicking Keshav Maharaj over deep mid-wicket for six. But South Africa continued to chip away when Washington Sundar poked at a quicker delivery, and the outside edge was taken sharply by Markram at slip, who got a record ninth catch and gave Harmer a well-deserved five-wicket haul.
Harmer claimed his sixth wicket when Nitish Kumar Reddy’s attempted reverse sweep took the glove edge and gave the wicketkeeper a simple catch. South Africa moved to the brink of victory when Jadeja danced down the pitch against Keshav Maharaj, but was beaten in the air, and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne completed a swift stumping.
Fittingly, Jansen took a one-handed blinder while running backwards to dismiss Mohammed Siraj off Maharaj’s bowling, and spark unreal scenes in the South African camp, as they soaked in the feeling of taking down India on their home soil for just the second time in Tests.
Brief Scores: South Africa 489 and 260/5d in 78.3 overs (Tristan Stubbs 94; Ravindra Jadeja 4/62) beat India 201 and 140 in 63.5 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 54, Washington Sundar 16; Simon Harmer 6-37, Keshav Maharaj 2-37) by 408 runs