South Africa, The World Test Champions, handed India an embarrassing 408-run defeat in the 2nd and final Test match between the two sides at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati today. Having dramatically won the first test at Kolkata, the Proteas completed a 2-0 whitewash.
The match lasted almost 5 days, with South Africa dominating proceedings throughout. Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickleton once again showed tremendous application to give South Africa yet another healthy start in the first innings. However, India clawed back to have the Proteas at 246/6. But India at that moment just let the match slip from its hands.
Senuran Muthusamy, the 31-year-old Southpaw from Durban, staged a tremendous rearguard action, adding 88 runs with Kyle Verreyne and then a priceless 97 runs with the aggressive Marco Jansen. Muthusamy went on to score his maiden test hundred while Marco Jansen scored a superb 93.
The gritty South Africans, unfazed by the mighty Indians, put up an extremely formidable 489 in the first innings. India needed to bat well, but Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj had other ideas.
Yashasvi Jaiswal got a well-deserved fifty to his name, but the rest of the Indian batters seemed less interested in grafting and playing a patient game.
From a decent position of 95/1, India collapsed to 122/7. Marco Jansen, using his height, extracted tremendous bounce from the wicket and got the better of the Indian batters, who were surprised by the bounce which Jansen generated. Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav tried their best to stitch a decent partnership, but once Sundar fell at 194, India were bundled out for just 201, conceding a massive lead of 288 runs.
South Africa, in the second essay, batted with ease and virtually put the match out of India’s reach by setting a mammoth target of 549 runs to win, with three and a half sessions to get 10 Indian wickets.
Simon Harmer bowled exceptionally well. His brilliant off-spinners, with a fine loop, the dip, the drift with the spin and bounce, were too much for the Indian batters to handle. Our very own Indian spinners struggled to get anything out of the pitch, but Simon Harmer was truly exceptional. He was heads and shoulders above Indian spinners, and in the second innings, it was all Harmer.
Jaiswal, once again in his urgency to score, nicked one off Jansen. He went for the cut with little room outside the off-stump while KL Rahul was bowled by a beauty from Harmer. Kuldeep Yadav, who came in as a night watchman yesterday, went early today. The spinning, bouncing delivery was too much for Kuldeep as Aiden Markram took a sharp catch at slip.
Dhruv Jurel did not last long either, edging one to slip off Harmer with Markram taking yet another catch. Rishabh Pant, having a wretched series, hit a few here and there and then got bamboozled by Harmer. There was no captain’s knock coming from Pant.
Jadeja played the lone hand and helped himself to a brave fifty. Nitish Reddy played a poor shot, while Sai Sudharsan’s stubborn resistance of 139 balls for just 14 runs had no bearing on the result and once Jadeja gave it away, it was curtains. Siraj holed out in the deep, where Jansen took an unbelievable one-handed catch to checkmate India with a margin of 408 runs.
Simon Harmer took 6 wickets in the 2nd innings, while Aiden Markram took 9 catches in the match. Marco Jansen, for his brilliant all-round performance, was adjudged the Player of the Match, while Simon Harmer, for his sheer brilliance and match-winning performances in both Test matches, was awarded the Player of the Series.
It was indeed a disappointing day for Indian Test Cricket. The batters showed inept technique and a fragile temperament, while the bowlers could not use the pitch to the best of their abilities. India certainly lost to a better side, which was more prepared and showed more intent and zeal to win.
Another whitewash!
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