Proteas Wanderers drama ends as India conquer SA to secure No.1 ranking
Elgar and Amla fight on tricky pitch before Indian quicks seal victory and world No.1 ranking
Dean Elgar (86*) and Hashim Amla (52) did all they could to ignite a remarkable run chase, but a lack of support from everyone else meant that the Proteas were rolled for 177. Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah sparked a dramatic collapse as India beat South Africa by 63 runs on the fourth day of the third and final Test at the Wanderers.
The win means India have retained the ICC Test Championship mace and have also won an award of $1million for being top of the rankings by the April 3 cut-off date. The victory in Johannesburg means second-placed South Africa can't go ahead of India, even if they beat Australia 4-0 in their upcoming series
Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla shared a century second-wicket partnership on Saturday that took South Africa more than halfway towards their target of 241 before Amla's dismissal for 52 started a collapse in which nine wickets fell for 53 runs.
Sharma and Bumrah claimed two wickets each to start the slide before Mohammed Shami ripped through the lower order, taking 5-28.
As entertaining as this Test match proved to be, it will be remembered for providing a wicket that was deemed to be dangerous by the umpires late on day three. It got so bad that the players had to leave the field for fear of the batsmen’s safety, and the match flirted with becoming just the second Test in history to be abandoned because of a dangerous surface.
What comes of the conditions and what punishment awaits Cricket South Africa remains to be seen, but what can’t be disputed is the fact that it was the Indians who handled the testing conditions best.
"This is one of our sweetest wins," skipper Virat Kohli said. "This day will be remembered for a long time for us as a team."
"We already had the belief but now we have the result to back that as well.
"South Africa played better than us in the first two games so they deserved to win (the series) but we deserved to win this game. But at many moments in the first two games, we put them under pressure.
"We are the number one team in the world and we certainly played like that today."
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis admitted that India had been the better team at the Wanderers but hailed the series win.
"It’s fantastic to win the series against a really good team. Credit to India for playing some really good cricket in all three Tests."
Dean Elgar (86*) and Hashim Amla (52) did all they could to ignite a remarkable run chase, but a lack of support from everyone else meant that the Proteas were rolled for 177. Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah sparked a dramatic collapse as India beat South Africa by 63 runs on the fourth day of the third and final Test at the Wanderers.
The win means India have retained the ICC Test Championship mace and have also won an award of $1million for being top of the rankings by the April 3 cut-off date. The victory in Johannesburg means second-placed South Africa can't go ahead of India, even if they beat Australia 4-0 in their upcoming series
Hard fought series and what a way to end it. Victory at the Wanderers! #TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/i3oJchKmNe— BCCI (@BCCI) January 27, 2018
Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla shared a century second-wicket partnership on Saturday that took South Africa more than halfway towards their target of 241 before Amla's dismissal for 52 started a collapse in which nine wickets fell for 53 runs.
Sharma and Bumrah claimed two wickets each to start the slide before Mohammed Shami ripped through the lower order, taking 5-28.
As entertaining as this Test match proved to be, it will be remembered for providing a wicket that was deemed to be dangerous by the umpires late on day three. It got so bad that the players had to leave the field for fear of the batsmen’s safety, and the match flirted with becoming just the second Test in history to be abandoned because of a dangerous surface.
What comes of the conditions and what punishment awaits Cricket South Africa remains to be seen, but what can’t be disputed is the fact that it was the Indians who handled the testing conditions best.
Two things I will say about this test .. if anyone ever calls this Indian batting line up flat track bullies again they need to be reminded of the skill and bravery they have shown in this innings ..— Nasser Hussain (@nassercricket) January 26, 2018
"This is one of our sweetest wins," skipper Virat Kohli said. "This day will be remembered for a long time for us as a team."
"We already had the belief but now we have the result to back that as well.
"South Africa played better than us in the first two games so they deserved to win (the series) but we deserved to win this game. But at many moments in the first two games, we put them under pressure.
"We are the number one team in the world and we certainly played like that today."
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis admitted that India had been the better team at the Wanderers but hailed the series win.
"It’s fantastic to win the series against a really good team. Credit to India for playing some really good cricket in all three Tests."
STATS
- This is the first instance of Indian pacers taking all 20 wickets in a Test.
- India has never lost a Test match at Johannesburg. 1992: Draw, 1997: Draw, 2006: Win, 2013: Draw, 2018: Win
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