South Africa 408 (Elgar 185, Jansen 84*, Bedingham 56, Bumrah 4-69) beat India 245 (Rahul 101, Rabada 5-59) and 131 (Kohli 76, Burger 4-33, Jansen 3-36) by an innings and 32 runs
A fast-forward Test match came to a fast-forward end as South Africa rolled India over inside three days to secure victory by an innings and 32 runs. And boy, did they have fun doing it.
Wiaan Mulder threw his head into the turf. He thought he had dropped Virat Kohli. But really what happened was the ball had moved so sharply it beat the leading edge as the batter tried to play a flick shot and bounced off his thigh towards first slip.
India, meanwhile, were barely holding on. It is unclear if SammyB on the ESPNcricinfo commentary feedback is South African but he nailed the mood when he said, “The high-pitched horror movie scream at 8.4 was quite something.” That was Shubman Gill, by the way, in pure panic as he tried to convince Kohli not to take a risky single.
India’s batting lasted a mere 34.1 overs on Thursday and featured nine single-digit scores. That in a way highlighted just how poorly they had bowled, letting just one man outscore their second-innings total.
Early on, it was the good-length ball that was creating the most problems. Now, after two days of wear and tear and some excellent morning sunshine, it had shifted to back of good length, where cracks and divots were starting to form. Landing the ball there was creating variable bounce.
South Africa had an attack better suited to exploit it. Higher release points. Better pace. And perhaps most importantly a lot of rest. Dean Elgar’s 185 and Marco Jansen’s 84 not out had ensured they were extremely fresh when it was their turn to bowl in the evening and they did not disappoint.
Virat Kohli did his best to keep them at bay, scoring a 76 off 82 balls, but he was always fighting a rising tide.