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India (327 & 174) defeat South Africa (197 & 191) by 113 runs to win the 1st Test

Bumrah is the fastest (23 tests) to take 100 overseas Test wickets for India. Previous best was Chandra who did it in 25 tests.
 
Top effort, despite a day lost to rain and several mistakes particularly with the bat.

1-0.
 
Bumrah, Shami, Siraj, Rahul were the main drivers of this win.
 
India breached two fortress in Test cricket in 2021: Gabba in Australia and Centurion in South Africa - best Test team in the world.
 
What a year for this Indian team. From the GABBA to Centurion.

This test has been a very good advertisement for Test cricket.
 
Indian team is on roll nowadays
The best team in the world right.As hard as it is for me to say but india is best test team in the world.
 
FH2cG_dUYAE9jcR
 
Btw why Ashwin bash here.. a specialist spinner is must on a bowling attack to refresh fast bowlers.. a part time spinner can't do that..
 
Smbhayi said:
India is lucky that india collapsed quick in both innings :srt
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Thanks to our batsman! The guy in your emoji could have easily scored centuries in both the innings and taken most time out of this match!
 
My prediction of India winning by 130 runs wasnt far off. i said during match SA poor effort with ball on day 1 cost them the match.

well done india.
 
MP2011 said:
By far! Best all conditions (except in NZ) team in world.
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Also Pakistan perhaps as they say here! And as also a mini-obstacle in the form of UAE where they failed even though it was T20 format!
 
RamLakhan said:
NZ may again come up with crappy ideas! They may lay down flattest pitches and ensure the series is drawn!
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still think if our guys have a decent gap in between series and IPL , taking into consideration the biobubble and the covid situation, i would still back our boys to lay it past NZ, flat pitches or no flat pitches. our attack is varied and fires in all conditions. Our batting has to fire big time. but here we showed that no Gill, no rohit, no jads - we still can mix it with the best on offer and come out tops.
 
India started the year by beating Australia at The Gabba and finish the year by beating South Africa at Centurion. In between they beat England away and were pretty much unbeatable at home. And they did all this with their 3 most experienced batsmen averaging less than 30.
 
RamLakhan said:
Also Pakistan perhaps as they say here! And as also a mini-obstacle in the form of UAE where they failed even though it was T20 format!
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UAE doesn't count as we have not played a test there.
 
SA got dismissed under 200 in both the innings of a home test.

When was the last time this happened?
 
Savour it Indian fans, the last 12 months have been the best time ever in Indian cricket and it's not something that'll last forever. I remember watching Barca in their pomp around 2011 and that was the most enjoyable time as a fan, but sadly that didn't last forever. So savour it while it lasts coz it ain't going to last forever. Melbourne. Gabba. Lords. Oval. Centurion. Here's to hoping a few more.
 
What a team, what a clinical performance..
Despite having out of form batting lineup for almost two years now, India manage to dominate every away tour.
Kudos to our lionhearted bowlers, Shami, Bumrah, Siraj are world class as a bowling unit and are effective on every track against all teams. Rahul is currently best test opener.
India is lucky to have currently world's best and their best ever bowling attack..
So proud of my team India.
 
Bull said:
Indian team is on roll nowadays
The best team in the world right.As hard as it is for me to say but india is best test team in the world.
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Thanks for your honesty and sincere appreciation. Do understand its hard for you. if it makes u feel better. in the 90's my hostel - all rooms were plastered with posters of 2 w's , IK, shoiab etc - as a true lover of pace bowling - i think SSA is on his way to become one of pak' s atg.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First ever Test win for India at Centurion. Previous Test matches at this venue had resulted in defeats by an innings and 25 runs and by 135 runs <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvsIND?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvsIND</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1476509297051947014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Romali_rotti said:
That NZ loss was because Indians were isolating for Covid while NZ was well prepared. On level playing field NZ doesnt win that match...
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Even though I agree that NZ would not have won under normal circumstances, but it was BCCIs decision to not send their players earlier and play them in IPL.

And these things always happen for eg india in aus before 2015 wc. This should not be an excuse for losses
 
Smbhayi said:
Btw why Ashwin bash here.. a specialist spinner is must on a bowling attack to refresh fast bowlers.. a part time spinner can't do that..
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Don't think anyone is serious about playing a part time instead of Ashwin, such comments including mine come only to reinforce the point that Ashwin, contrary to what he believes, is very dispensable in overseas conditions. Any decent spinner can do his job since he hardly picks any wickets in sena countries esp when the team needs the most.
 
Romali_rotti said:
That NZ loss was because Indians were isolating for Covid while NZ was well prepared. On level playing field NZ doesnt win that match...
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Yeah I know. However, we did lose that game and that will stay on the scoreboard.
 
Giving credit where it's due, this team is a byproduct of Kohli's unwavering desire to win matches abroad. I firmly believe that this fast bowling unit success lies with Kohli and somewhat Shastri. They took the unpopular decision of building fast bowlers heavy side and dropping the concept of 2 spinners and showing Ashwin his place.
 
happydavy said:
Don't think anyone is serious about playing a part time instead of Ashwin, such comments including mine come only to reinforce the point that Ashwin, contrary to what he believes, is very dispensable in overseas conditions. Any decent spinner can do his job since he hardly picks any wickets in sena countries esp when the team needs the most.
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He literally kept Smith from scoring for the majority of the series win in Australia and was arguably the most important bowler in that series. How much more you need lmao..
 
All this discussion about Ashwin, but on a fast Joburg wicket Ashwin can be dropped for a 5th seamer. Bring in Vihari for Thakur, then you have a full time batsman & a part time spin too. You will not get more 10 overs from a spinner on a Joburg wicket.
 
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happydavy said:
Don't think anyone is serious about playing a part time instead of Ashwin, such comments including mine come only to reinforce the point that Ashwin, contrary to what he believes, is very dispensable in overseas conditions. Any decent spinner can do his job since he hardly picks any wickets in sena countries esp when the team needs the most.
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Aus bowled extremely well in the last two tours in Aus.
 
India took control on the first day itself. I thought rain may make it a draw, but the rain stayed away.
 
street cricketer said:
He literally kept Smith from scoring for the majority of the series win in Australia and was arguably the most important bowler in that series. How much more you need lmao..
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The point he was making was that Ashwin is dispensable in some conditions and that is the truth, Kohli did'nt commit a heinous crime when he didn't pick him in England.
 
happydavy said:
Giving credit where it's due, this team is a byproduct of Kohli's unwavering desire to win matches abroad. I firmly believe that this fast bowling unit success lies with Kohli and somewhat Shastri. They took the unpopular decision of building fast bowlers heavy side and dropping the concept of 2 spinners and showing Ashwin his place.
Click to expand...

No amout of unwavering desire would have turned shami or ishant into world class bowlers. Most of the credit goes to bharat arun, the man turned these bowlers around. Also if ashwin wasn't present in australia we would have lost, only guy who got shown his place in our biggest series win is kohli. Just because a spinner can't rip through sides on a green track doesn't make him dispensible.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
The point he was making was that Ashwin is dispensable in some conditions and that is the truth, Kohli did'nt commit a heinous crime when he didn't pick him in England.
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Except eng didn't actually give us green mambas, dropping ashwin on a green track for jadeja is understandable but ashwin should be undroppable on any other pitch regardless of country but sadly egomaniac and logical decision making never meshed well.
 
dildilpak said:
All this discussion about Ashwin, but on a fast Joburg wicket Ashwin can be dropped for a 5th seamer. Bring in Vihari for Thakur, then you have a full time batsman & a part time spin too. You will not get more 10 overs from a spinner on a Joburg wicket.
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Ashwin can be dropped entire SA series.
 
jagatk said:
No amout of unwavering desire would have turned shami or ishant into world class bowlers. Most of the credit goes to bharat arun, the man turned these bowlers around. Also if ashwin wasn't present in australia we would have lost, only guy who got shown his place in our biggest series win is kohli. Just because a spinner can't rip through sides on a green track doesn't make him dispensible.
Click to expand...
This. Giving credit to Kohli for bowlers' performance is so lol worthy. If Kohli takes credit for our bowlers being best in business who'll take credit for our pedestrian batting line-up?
 
After two failed attempts, India won their first Test match in Centurion, beating South Africa by 113 runs on the final day.

Despite some resistance from the South African batters, wickets at either side of the lunch break helped India wrap up the game early in the second session of day five.

Temba Bavuma, who came in to bat at the start of the day, was left stranded on 35* as the Indian bowlers ran through the rest of the lineup.

The win solidifies India's position in the ICC World Test Championship standings, where they are currently placed fourth with a win percentage of 64.28.

Bavuma and Dean Elgar resumed action for South Africa on day 5, still 211 runs away from victory. Both the batters showed good intent in the opening exchange and punished India for their wayward bowling early on. Elgar was lucky to get a reprieve with Mohammad Shami dropping a return catch in his follow-through. The South African skipper rubbed salt on wounds by smashing three boundaries in the subsequent three overs, putting the pressure back on India.

Just when both the batters were looking comfortable at the crease, Jasprit Bumrah broke the 36-run stand by dismissing Elgar. Coming around the wicket, Bumrah got the ball to move back in and Elgar, having moved far too across the stumps in an attempt to flick, was struck on the pads. Elgar reviewed in hope but the tracker showed three reds, thus bringing an end to his vigil of 156 balls.

Quinton de Kock was positive in his approach as well but his innings didn't last long. In almost a carbon copy dismissal from the first innings, de Kock played on trying to cut the ball that was too close to his body.

Five balls later, Shami induced an outside edge from Wiaan Mulder's bat, as Rishabh Pant completed a simple catch behind the stumps.

Bavuma continued to show resilience despite wickets falling at the other end and along with Marco Jansen, took South Africa to lunch at 182/7.

Jansen came out with intent and smashed Shami for two boundaries in the first over after the break but it was the India pacer who had the last laugh, getting the debutant out caught behind.

Ashwin wrapped up the match with two wickets in two balls, the only wickets taken by a spinner in this Test, as India defeated South Africa by 113 runs to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.


The two teams will next face off in Johannesburg on 3 January 2022 for the second Test for the series.

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2433698
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
The point he was making was that Ashwin is dispensable in some conditions and that is the truth, Kohli did'nt commit a heinous crime when he didn't pick him in England.
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Let's get this straight. Kohli was right when he didn't pick Ashwin in England, not because Jadeja was a better spinner in those conditions than Ashwin, but because Jadeja is a much better batsman (eventhough he underperformed with the bat) than Ashwin and so that lent a better balance to the team than with Ashwin in it.

Ashwin is still India's best specialist spinner in any condition, but because he's not dependable as a batsman to survive many balls, and because all our fast bowlers are bunnies with the bat, you can't afford to habe both Ashwin AND 3 quicks who are bunnies as that would lengthen the tail very much (as it was in this game). Hence I would pick Jadeja in conditions where you think the role of a spinner would be diminished (like South African or New Zealand conditions). But in Australian conditions where the wickets are usually flat and the sun beats down, Ashwin can be crucial in the final day.
 
I expected better fights from South Africa. They looked quite rusty.

Congratulations, India.
 
street cricketer said:
Let's get this straight. Kohli was right when he didn't pick Ashwin in England, not because Jadeja was a better spinner in those conditions than Ashwin, but because Jadeja is a much better batsman (eventhough he underperformed with the bat) than Ashwin and so that lent a better balance to the team than with Ashwin in it.

Ashwin is still India's best specialist spinner in any condition, but because he's not dependable as a batsman to survive many balls, and because all our fast bowlers are bunnies with the bat, you can't afford to habe both Ashwin AND 3 quicks who are bunnies as that would lengthen the tail very much (as it was in this game). Hence I would pick Jadeja in conditions where you think the role of a spinner would be diminished (like South African or New Zealand conditions). But in Australian conditions where the wickets are usually flat and the sun beats down, Ashwin can be crucial in the final day.
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A wonderful take, well done m8. the only change i would make is equating eng and nz conditions as similar and Aus & SAF conditions as similar. Even though next test is in joburg and on the afrikan highveldt where there is bound to be pace and bounce, i would still go with ashwin. he will provide about 20-25 overs of control that hanuma vihari cannot. And people who are jumping up and down are guys who think any guys is only as good as his last test or last score. I still feel vihari should come in the team and they should leave che pu out for jo-burg. other wise the same lineup.
 
Dominating performance by India in South Africa's own back yard.

In the past India wouldn't have had the pacers to challenge South Africa on such a surface but now they have a bowling attack that can take on the world and that makes a huge difference.
 
Ashwin adds a lot with the bat, he is a world class bowler and a legit all rounder as well.
 
street cricketer said:
Let's get this straight. Kohli was right when he didn't pick Ashwin in England, not because Jadeja was a better spinner in those conditions than Ashwin, but because Jadeja is a much better batsman (eventhough he underperformed with the bat) than Ashwin and so that lent a better balance to the team than with Ashwin in it.

Ashwin is still India's best specialist spinner in any condition, but because he's not dependable as a batsman to survive many balls, and because all our fast bowlers are bunnies with the bat, you can't afford to habe both Ashwin AND 3 quicks who are bunnies as that would lengthen the tail very much (as it was in this game). Hence I would pick Jadeja in conditions where you think the role of a spinner would be diminished (like South African or New Zealand conditions). But in Australian conditions where the wickets are usually flat and the sun beats down, Ashwin can be crucial in the final day.
Click to expand...
He is the best spinner in the world, that is correct.
He is dispensable in some conditions, that is correct too.
We actually agree here.
The problems is I have seen posts here saying that dropping him for Jadeja in England was an idiotic move which tbf it wasn't.
 
When our bowlers take 20 wickets , it somewhat makes me really joyful inside.(due to history).
 
Next test, there will be no Quinton de Kock either. Most likely, it will be Kyle Verreynne who will replace him. He has good FC record, averages 52 there but not sure how he will do vs this Indian attack in these conditions.
 
The batters may have let South Africa down and allowed India to breach the Centurion fortress, but skipper Dean Elgar on Thursday vowed to bounce back in the second Test in Johannesburg, saying they will not be short on confidence.

The Indian pace attack comprising Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj was at its sizzling best as South Africa were bowled out for 197 and 191 in their two innings to suffer a 113-run defeat in the first Test here.

“I don’t think we are going to lack any confidence going into Jo’burg. It’s never nice losing a game especially when we know we actually went wrong. And it’s difficult to correct those wrongs during a game,” the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

“Hopefully building up to the Wanderers second Test we’re going to have some time to reflect and learn around what’s happened.”

This was South Africa’s first Test in six months in a year when they have played just six matches under Elgar, after Australia opted not to travel for a four-Test series in March.

Elgar started his journey with a 2-0 win over the West Indies before this loss against India.

“I don’t think it’s going to change our confidence going forward. We still have had a relatively good run in the last six months, so we got to utilise those kind of good energies we’ve had.

“So yeah, we definitely are going to sit down and break up the game and as a group, we’re going to definitely come back on. It’s kind of what I expect our guys to be doing anyways,” the 34-year-old said.

The hosts were up against it after losing the toss and seeing India reach 270/3 at stumps on day one following KL Rahul’s majestic century.

“They scored over 300 which is always going to be a massive plus point for them winning the toss. It lies in the run scored obviously throughout the four days of play.

“There’s a lot of learning points for us. The basics of the game still applies. I don’t think we had that with regards to the batting point of view.

“Day one we started reasonably okay and then we we let it go and the run rate was a little bit too hard for us to try and manage and bring down again.

“Opposition being three wickets down on day one is something that is always going to almost hurt you as an opponent,” the South African skipper said.

This is the first time India have won a Test match at Centurion. South Africa had lost only twice in 26 matches at the venue.

Elgar further said they would have to be particularly watchful against the duo of Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, who shared 13 wickets between them.

“Shami obviously posed some issues for our right-hand batters. Obviously his wickets in the first innings reflect on that.

“Bumrah is someone that’s always running with energy, high energy, irrespective of if he’s going for runs or not. So he’s always going to challenge you as a batter.

“You’ve got to be very mindful of facing both of them but saying that they’re quite a well balanced attack at the moment.

“Siraj can also come in and can also be a bit of a handful as he was a little bit last night. But the senior guys in Shami and Bumrah are the two guys,” he said when asked about their main threats in the Indian bowling attack.

For South Africa, Temba Bavuma was the pick of the batters, making 52 in the first innings and an unbeaten 35 in their improbable 305-run chase.

The skipper led from the front with a stoic 77 in the second innings but his dismissal triggered a collapse as the team folded in 68 overs.

“You need runs to obviously compete, safe to say that we didn’t execute that in our first innings, which I thought was still relatively doable for us.

“The nature of Test cricket is that you’ve got to compete against the new ball and the way they started with their bowling in the first innings was something that like we obviously struggled a little bit against,” Elgar said.

Going into the second Test, Elgar said they may think of bringing their talented number three Keegan Petersen down the order.

“Maybe we can give him a bit opportunity with all the older ball coming in. Yeah, he has had a bit of a rough start to his his Test career and it doesn’t reflect on him as a player.

“He’s an extremely talented player. He’s been one of our best batters around domestically for the last few years. Clearly the stats don’t reflect his ability at the moment. I feel for him,” he said of Petersen who got out for 15 and 17.

https://indianexpress.com/article/s...fidence-going-into-joburg-test-elgar-7698669/
 
Gotta hand it to India. Test wins in Australia, England and now South Africa is no small achievement.

This is more worthy than winning a T20 world cup.
 
Why not Patel?

jagatk said:
No amout of unwavering desire would have turned shami or ishant into world class bowlers. Most of the credit goes to bharat arun, the man turned these bowlers around. Also if ashwin wasn't present in australia we would have lost, only guy who got shown his place in our biggest series win is kohli. Just because a spinner can't rip through sides on a green track doesn't make him dispensible.
Click to expand...

street cricketer said:
Let's get this straight. Kohli was right when he didn't pick Ashwin in England, not because Jadeja was a better spinner in those conditions than Ashwin, but because Jadeja is a much better batsman (eventhough he underperformed with the bat) than Ashwin and so that lent a better balance to the team than with Ashwin in it.

Ashwin is still India's best specialist spinner in any condition, but because he's not dependable as a batsman to survive many balls, and because all our fast bowlers are bunnies with the bat, you can't afford to habe both Ashwin AND 3 quicks who are bunnies as that would lengthen the tail very much (as it was in this game). Hence I would pick Jadeja in conditions where you think the role of a spinner would be diminished (like South African or New Zealand conditions). But in Australian conditions where the wickets are usually flat and the sun beats down, Ashwin can be crucial in the final day.
Click to expand...

I agree Ashwin brings a lot to the Indian team so a lot of criticism directed towards him is unwarranted.

However, why not Axar Patel? He has clearly outbowled both Ashwin and Jadeja in India with a bowling average of 11.9. Like them he is also a decent bat, with a Test average of 29.8.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/axar-patel-554691

Patel may fail abroad, but he deserves a chance.
 
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India became just the second visiting team after Australia to win an uncontrived test match at Supersport Park in Centurion when they prevailed by 113 runs in the first of the three-match series against South Africa at the venue on Thursday.

England won a contrived match by two wickets in January 2000 and Australia triumphed by 281 runs in February 2014 but the hosts had won 21 of 26 tests at their most successful venue before India’s triumph.

“It's obviously not a not a nice thing that sits with me, knowing that we lost the test match,” admitted South Africa captain Dean Elgar. “We did a few things wrong but there’s also a lot of positives. India played a great test match and you have to give them credit for that. There are a lot of things for us to work on before the next one,” Elgar said.

Both captains agreed that India’s batting on the first day, particularly the opening partnership of 117 between man-of-the-match KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, made a significant difference to the result.

“The Indian openers adopted pretty basic fundamentals of batting, they left the ball very well and backed their defence quite well. I thought maybe we could have executed our lengths a bit better, maybe make them play a little bit more, which we obviously started doing after lunch and we reaped the rewards.

“Our bowlers were brilliant (on the third morning claiming the last seven wickets for just 55 runs). We had some good chats and they executed exactly what we needed to do on a wicket like this. I can't emphasize enough the hard work our bowlers put in to enable us to take 20 wickets in a test. But, obviously, with the batting we let ourselves down quite a lot,” Elgar said.

India captain, Virat Kohli, said: “The discipline that the batsmen showed was very satisfying. Winning the toss and batting first in tough conditions overseas is always a challenge. A lot of credit has to go to the opening partnership, Mayank and KL, the way they set up this test match for us to be 270-odd for three on day one.

“We were in pole position, we knew that anything over 300 or 320 would be would be a top total for us and that ended up being the case because we have a lot of belief in our bowling unit, that they will get the job done for us. We have consistently bowl teams out and we knew that these guys are going to do the job, we just need runs on the board, and that's exactly what was provided by the opening partnership. I think that was the difference in the game,” Kohli said.

Elgar said there was a lot to ‘work on’ in the three days before the Wanderers test starts on Monday, Jan 3: “We’re going to have to sit down with me, the management and strategize going forward. I don't think we did a lot of wrong things within the test but, obviously, the things that we did do wrong, we were quite far off.

“So there are a lot of things to work on going into the second test but it’s not doom and gloom for us, there are still two matches left. We put ourselves under a little bit of pressure, but we kind of thrive under the pressure, which is a positive for us,” Elgar said.

https://supersport.com/cricket/sout...Opening_partnership_made_the_difference_Kohli
 
Great win for India. Gotta give them credit here for doing the business.
 
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