India suffered a batting collapse as captain Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah were all dismissed for ducks; South Africa's debutant Nandre Burger claimed four wickets while Marco Jansen took three.
Sunday 31 December 2023 10:56, UK
South Africa's Dean Elgar made a spectacular 185 in his farewell series as the hosts posted a commanding 408 all out before their bowlers took all 20 wickets to beat India by an innings and 32 runs in the first Test at Centurion Park.
South Africa's bowlers shredded through India's batting line up, dismissing the visitors for 131 in their second innings inside three days with only Shubman Gill (26) and Virat Kohli (76) making it into double figures.
Kagiso Rabada (2-32) set the tone when he dismissed Rohit Sharma for a duck with a back-of-a-length delivery that beat the outside edge of his bat and crashed into the off-stump and triggered an alarming collapse for the tourists.
Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin (0) and Jasprit Bumrah (0) were all dismissed for a duck as South Africa's debutant Nandre Burger claimed four wickets and Marco Jansen took three.
South Africa remains the only country where India are yet to win an away series, with the second and final Test being played in Cape Town where veteran Elgar will sign off his career.
Rabada almost had a wicket from the first ball of India's second innings when he found the outside of Yashasvi Jaiswal's (five) bat but the India opener was dropped on 0 by Aiden Markram at second slip.
Gill provided a brief resistance for his team adding 26 runs with six boundaries but was bowled by Jansen (3-36) to leave India at 62-3 at tea.
Kohli led India's attack smashing 12 boundaries and one six during his outing but wickets continued to tumble around him as Jansen bowled Shreyas Iyer (six) and Burger took back-to-back wickets to remove KL Rahul (four) and Ashwin (0) leaving India at 96-6.
Rahul, who made a commanding 101 in the first inning, edged a full delivery from Burger to Markram at second slip while Ashwin hit the ball to gully where debutant David Bedingham took the catch.
Bedingham took another gully catch to remove Shardul Thakur (two) allowing Rabada to claim his seventh wicket of the Test and leave India 105-7 by the 29th over before Bumrah was run out without scoring.
Mohammed Siraj (four) was unable to rescue his beleaguered team after he gloved behind to Kyle Verreynne and fell to the floor in frustration after the decision was confirmed by ultra edge.
Kohli and Prasidh Krishna (0no) shared a 10-run partnership before the former was brilliantly caught in the deep by a diving Rabada to bring an end to a thrilling contest.
South Africa began the third day with an 11-run lead on 256-6 which saw Elgar move from 140 to 185 before a quick bouncer from Shardul Thakur (1-101) feathered his glove and was pouched by Rahul in the 95th over to leave South Africa 360-6.
Elgar and Jansen (84no) put on a 111-run partnership with the latter scoring his highest Test score and managed to survive some intimidating bowling when India took the second new ball in the 82nd over.
Player of the Match, South Africa’s Dean Elgar after his 185 off 287 balls:
“That knock was pretty special for me. If I don’t laugh now I am going to cry so I’d rather smile and enjoy the moment.
“Contributing a big score for this team is something I’ve always wanted to do. You have to keep things simple. Play late and be great.
“You have to ride the wave when it’s in your favour. It’s the last international fixture for me and I’m glad I’m leaving on a good note. We know on their day India are difficult to beat and they will bounce back at Cape Town.”
South Africa's debutant Nandre Burger (4-33):
"It's a feeling I never thought I'd experience, to make my debut in all three formats within two weeks has been the best time of my life.
"A win is always what we wanted. I wasn't nervous, I've made a lot of debuts at Centurion Park so I am used to it. There's no better feeling than winning a red ball game."
India's captain Rohit Sharma:
"We were not good enough to win. Having been put into bat I thought we got decent runs on the board, but then we failed to exploit the conditions with the ball and didn't show up with the bat in the second innings.
"Virat [Kohli] batted brilliantly. Our batters were challenged at different times of the game and we didn't adapt well.
"To finish the game within three days you don't have too much positives but the way KL Rahul batted in the first innings showed us what we needed to do."
The two sides now head to Cape Town for the second and final Test starting on Wednesday January 3 - Sunday January 7 2024.
