India arrived in South Africa with ambitions of immortality. It took less than three pulsating days for the tourists to be reduced to mere mortals with the Proteas completing a breathtaking innings and 32-run victory in a pulsating first Test at SuperSport Park.
The Proteas have now achieved the primary objective of defending “The Final Frontier” — their proud record of never having lost a home Test series to India. At best, Rohit Sharma’s men can now only draw parity over New Year in Cape Town next week.
🇿🇦THE PROTEAS LEAD THE FREEDOM SERIES
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) December 28, 2023
A mammoth all-round effort from the Proteas to take a 1-0 lead in the #Betway Test Series🇿🇦🇮🇳
What a victory by the boys 💪😅
The Final Frontier Continues 😎#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/MFWVAgphxS
But taking into account the dismal fashion in which the tourists finished on Thursday, losing — in many cases donating — their last 8 wickets for 79 runs, even that objective may be as high as Table Mountain.
India’s rapid capitulation was not pretty, and barely excusable, but it illustrates what can happen when the outcome is placed ahead of the process.
And this is where the Proteas have to be applauded. Coach Shukri Conrad had made some bold selection calls in selecting a debutant batter David Bedingham that had only a few months returned to South Africa with the ambitions of playing international cricket for the country of his birth.
Equally, Conrad opted for another debutant fast bowler Nandre Burger that possesses the raw pace and emotion that makes Allan Donald look passive ahead of the experienced Lungi Ngidi.
And then there’s of course Dean Elgar. The calls are already streaming in for Conrad to sit down with the veteran opener, especially after his match-winning 185 here on his home ground Centurion, to reverse his retirement call after Newlands.
But Conrad understands the psychology of a cricketer’s mind better than most and he knows that Elgar’s motivating factor in this Test was to show everyone that he was still the Numero Uno.
To channel this energy in the right direction is the masterstroke, but Conrad also knows that a player can only run on this fuel for a limited period of time.
Like Hannibal of the hit 1980’s television show “The A Team” always said “I love it when a plan comes together”, Conrad can now similarly sit back in the dressingroom and light up the finest Cuban cigar in celebration.
Everyone played their part in this scintillating victory. Marco Jansen had been out of sorts for the first two days with the lanky fast bowler off the pace both with the ball and in the field.
But it was a different Jansen that walked out on Wednesday morning though as he struck a career-best 84 not out. It formed part of a 111-run partnership with Elgar that floored the Indians.
It not only extended the Proteas’ lead, but ultimately put them out of sight as the home side finished on 408 — an overall advantage of 163.
The only blemish — if it can actually be even referred to as that — was the absenteeism of captain Temba Bavuma with the Centurion crowd baying for the skipper to join Jansen out in the middle to help guide the young all-rounder to a potential maiden Test century.
Ultimately, it would have been foolish with Bavuma needing all the rest and recuperation to recover from his injured hamstring for Newlands, which starts on January 3.
India’s response was certainly not of a team that had anything left in the gut to go toe-to-toe with the Proteas.
That’s, of course, bar Virat Kohli. The Indian maestro, who will now most likely not have another opportunity to win a Test series in South Africa, fought a lone battle out in the middle after the Indian dressingroom was reduced to a revolving door.
Kagiso Rabada (2/32) initially burst it open before Burger (4/33) came charging through. And before India could realise what was happening, Jansen (3/36) had also rediscovered his mojo with the ball and Kohli (76) was left out in the middle all alone wondering how all his dreams had been crushed in such rapid time by a group of Proteas who are quickly discovering the habit of winning Test matches again.
Scorecard
India: 245 and 131 (Kohli 76, Burger 4/33, Jansen 3/36, Rabada 2/32)
South Africa: 408 all out (Elgar 185, Jansen 84*, Bumrah 4/69)