India chased down a modest victory target of 79 to claim a seven-wicket win over hosts South Africa in the second test at Newlands on Thursday and share the two-match series 1-1 after an extraordinary game finished inside five sessions.
India seamer Jasprit Bumrah took 6-61 to bowl South Africa out for 176 in their second innings on the stroke of lunch on the second day, before the visitors came out swinging and completed the win in 12 overs as they reached 80 for three.
Rohit Sharma finished not out on 16 and Shreyas Iyer on 4, with Yashasvi Jaiswal (28), Shubman Gill (10) and Virat Kohli (12) being the other wickets to fall.
There will be plenty of scrutiny of the Newlands pitch with the match completed in 642 balls, the shortest ever test in which there has been a winner, beating Australia’s 656-ball victory over South Africa in 1932.
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18:12 (IST) Jan 04
India chased down a modest victory target of 79 to claim a seven-wicket win over hosts South Africa in the second Test at Newlands on Thursday and share the two-match series 1-1 after an extraordinary game finished inside five sessions. India ended their second innings on 80 for three as they launched an assault to try and negate a difficult wicket that was still helping the bowlers. Rohit Sharma finished not out on 16 and Shreyas Iyer on 4, with Yashasvi Jaiswal (28), Shubman Gill (10) and Virat Kohli (12) being the wickets to fall.
17:43 (IST) Jan 04
A great feet. In Centurion, we had to learn from the mistakes. We came back very well, especially our bowlers. Had some plans and the boys got rewarded. We applied ourselves, we batted well to get a 100-run lead, not pleasing to see the last six wickets. We knew that it’s going to be a short game, we knew ever run matters, to get that lead was very important. (On Siraj) Very special, something you don;t get to see very often. We spoke about keeping things simple and that’s what happened. The pitch did the rest. Lot of credit to Siraj, Bumrah, Mukesh and Prasidh. Whenever you come here, it’s challenging. We have played a lot of good cricket outside India, we take a lot of pride. We would have loved to win the series. South Africa is a great team, they always challenges us, they are sch a good team. We can take a lot of pride from this performance. (On Elgar) Such an important player for SA, very gritty, we apprentice that. I’d like to wish him the best. Brilliant career, best wishes ahead.
India skipper Rohit Sharma after win
17:38 (IST) Jan 04
This ground will always hold a special place in my heart. The journey started here, always fond memories. Very happy it went well today. That journey started in 2018 – our bowling unit was experienced and we wanted to make an impact. In India, the spinners do a lot more work. Our team is also going through a transition. Lot of bowlers have been changed, the message is the team, keep fighting. We fought it out in the last game as well. Requires a lot of patience. We are very happy that we were able to do it in this game. I didn’t expect the game to go this fast. We wanted to bat first as well. Test cricket gives you surprises. Great series.
Player of the series (India) | Jasprit Bumrah
17:38 (IST) Jan 04
I would have liked to do more in this game. Still very proud of my performance I had in Centurion. Nice to contribute to a winning cause. Some really tough conditions throughout. It (3-Test series) would have been fantastic. You want to challenge yourself, Bumrah is world-class, he deserves this award. You want to push yourself to limits. Glad that I don;t have to face these guys again. Fond memories. We’ve come a long way. Very grateful to play against these guys. A lot of good memories, I received it (green cap) in 2012, I have missed only one series. It’s got a special place. Only leaves for duty, that’s done and dusted.
