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South Africa (RSA 408) inflict a painful Innings and 32 runs defeat over India (245 & 131) in the 1st Test

Usman Chadda said:
Looking through this South African line-up, it’s really a new look squad.

Surprised they managed to destroy India like this. Indian batters really struggle with lateral movement.
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This happens when you secure the first spot in the rankings by dominating other teams in home conditions.
 
Statpadder Inc said:
Imagine last winning a test match in Australia back when miandad was president. I don't even need to talk about your awful record in South Africa and the humiliating home whitewash too
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Well this was a humiliating drubbing. Now you can choose any coping mechanism of choice :)

Can't compare Pakistan with India. Pakistan is a war torn country with countless threats to their cricket. India on the other hand controls cricket.
 
Embarassing to say the least. India Pakistan are pretty much the same skill level teams.
 
FearlessRoar said:
It was expected. The golden days of Indian cricket are over. They are also being exposed for being flat track bullies.
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It was never a golden age for India. They have 0 ICC trophy since 2013. They also have no series win in South Africa, England, and NZ for 14 years.

Indian Golden era was 2007-2015 (Dhoni's India). They won 3 ICC trophies during that period.
 
Very subpar performance from India. Didn't expect them to lose this badly.

I am sure India will bounce back in the 2nd Test.
 
Statpadder Inc said:
Imagine last winning a test match in Australia back when miandad was president. I don't even need to talk about your awful record in South Africa and the humiliating home whitewash too
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🤣🤣 - I know Pakistan are mediocre so defeats in Australia aren't a shock.

This Indian side is ranked number 1 and was highly ranked when they last toured. This south African side is decent at best.

Go lick your wounds
 
South Africa wrapped up the game within three days to put their first points on board in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.

South Africa asserted their dominance with the bat and ball at their fortress in Centurion with a resounding victory by an innings and 32 runs against India on Day 3.

The Proteas are now up and running in the World Test Championship after the win, going on top with a 100% win percentage.

Having put up a lead of 145 runs, South Africa did not have to come out to bat again with the bowlers wreaking havoc on a pitch that had plenty in it for the versatile pace attack.

Here's how the Test played out:

Day 1: KL Rahul saves India the blushes

The South African pacers justified their captain Temba Bavuma's decision to bat first, running through the top three of the Indian batting within the first hour of play. The only worry for South Africa in the opening exchange was the injury to their skipper while fielding which kept him out of action for the remaining match.

After the early wickets, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer steadied the ship with a 68-run stand. However, once South Africa broke the stand, more wickets followed and India soon found themselves at 121/6 with Kohli and Iyer both back in the hut.

It was KL Rahul, who had happy memories of Centurion with a hundred the last time India visited, who saved the visitors from slipping further. Along with Shardul Thakur, he added 43 runs for the seventh wicket and took India to stumps at 208/8 in 59 overs possible due to rain interruptions.

While all the Proteas pacers proved to be potent, Kagiso Rabada was in a league of his own as he recorded the 14th five-for of his career with figures of 5/44 on Day 1.

Day 2: Elgar scripts the perfect end to swansong

Rahul pushed India past the 200-run mark and eventually got to his second century at the venue in style a six. He was the last wicket to fall as India folded for 245 early on Day 2.

The Indian pacers had the ball on a string, even accounting for the wicket of Aiden Markram early on, but Dean Elgar and Tony de Zorzi saw out the barrage and added 93 runs for the second wicket.

Jasprit Bumrah struck twice in two overs but despite the quick wickets, Elgar, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, was not only solid but unleashed a barrage of boundaries en route to a stunning century. David Bedingham too joined the party with a fifty on debut.

Shardul Thakur and debutant Prasidh Krishna were guilty of erring in their lines and lengths and were punished through the South African pair. India did finish the day with some momentum with two late strikes but South Africa already had managed a slender 11-run lead with five wickets still in hand.

Day 3: South Africa steamroll India

India would have hoped to bring the momentum of the two wickets from the previous day into Day 3 but those hopes were quickly quashed by Elgar and Marco Jansen, who put on a 111-run partnership for the sixth wicket.

The wicket of Elgar, who fell just 15 runs short of a double-century, was the only respite for India going into lunch. The rest of the batters folded quickly, with Jansen left stranded at the other end on 84.

With a massive lead of 163 runs, the visitors needed a special effort to stay in the game. But the South African pacers proved too hot to handle as India lost their openers in the first six overs.

Shubman Gill, one of the two batters in the innings to get to double-digit scores, looked good during his stay at the crease but was cleaned up by Jansen before tea. Wickets continued to tumble after the break as Virat Kohli battled alone to reach his fifty.

India were bowled out for 131, of which Kohli scored 76 runs and was the last wicket to fall.

The action heads to Cape Town for the final Test of the series, starting in the new year on 3 January.

Source: ICC
 
South Africa have shown that if you put India under pressure they are capable of folding.
 
Dean Elgar's statement during the post-match ceremony:

"Pretty special knock. Sometimes what we want to do hasn't worked out as planned, but I'm happy that it worked today. I think you need to keep things nice and simple; the game is already pretty complex. Focus on the ball, play nice and straight. Play late and be great. You've got to ride the roller when it's in your favor. Good partnerships with Tony, and then Jansen showed his talent as well. You need fast bowlers and a spinner potentially to take 20 wickets; that's how we win Test matches. KG was brilliant, but then Nandre showed why he has been such a shining light for South African cricket."
 
India's Captain Rohit Sharma's statement after the loss in the 1st Test to South Africa in the post-match ceremony:

"We were not good enough to win. Having been put in to bat, KL (Rahul) batted well to get us that score but then we didn't exploit the conditions with the ball and then again didn't show up today with the bat."

"If we have to win Test matches, we have to come together collectively and we didn't do that. Guys have come here before, we know what to expect and everyone has their own plan."

"Our batters were challenged and we didn't adapt well. This is a boundary-scoring ground, we saw them score many but we need to understand the opposition and their strengths as well. We didn't bat well in both innnings, that's why we stand here."

"Not too many positives to finish the game within three days, but KL showed what we need to do on this sort of pitch."

"Our bowlers, a lot of these guys haven't been here before so I don't want to be too critical."

"Important for us to regroup, we go through these times as sportsmen and we need to be ready for the next Test now."
 
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As far ICC rankings predictor, if Australia win 3-0 and South Africa win 2-0, India will become #3 and Australia will become #1. England will become #2.
 
South Africa kick off WTC25 campaign with dominant win over India

South Africa wrapped up the game within three days to put their first points on board in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.

South Africa asserted their dominance with the bat and ball at their fortress in Centurion with a resounding victory by an innings and 32 runs against India on Day 3.

The Proteas are now up and running in the World Test Championship after the win, going on top with a 100% win percentage.

Having put up a lead of 145 runs, South Africa did not have to come out to bat again with the bowlers wreaking havoc on a pitch that had plenty in it for the versatile pace attack

Here's how the Test played out:

Day 1: KL Rahul saves India the blushes

The South African pacers justified their captain Temba Bavuma's decision to bat first, running through the top three of the Indian batting within the first hour of play. The only worry for South Africa in the opening exchange was the injury to their skipper while fielding which kept him out of action for the remaining match.

After the early wickets, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer steadied the ship with a 68-run stand. However, once South Africa broke the stand, more wickets followed and India soon found themselves at 121/6 with Kohli and Iyer both back in the hut.

The Indian pacers had the ball on a string, even accounting for the wicket of Aiden Markram early on, but Dean Elgar and Tony de Zorzi saw out the barrage and added 93 runs for the second wicket.

Jasprit Bumrah struck twice in two overs but despite the quick wickets, Elgar, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, was not only solid but unleashed a barrage of boundaries en route to a stunning century. David Bedingham too joined the party with a fifty on debut.

Jasprit Bumrah goes boom.

India strike back with two quick wickets 👏

Shardul Thakur and debutant Prasidh Krishna were guilty of erring in their lines and lengths and were punished through the South African pair. India did finish the day with some momentum with two late strikes but South Africa already had managed a slender 11-run lead with five wickets still in hand.

Day 3: South Africa steamroll India

India would have hoped to bring the momentum of the two wickets from the previous day into Day 3 but those hopes were quickly quashed by Elgar and Marco Jansen, who put on a 111-run partnership for the sixth wicket.

The wicket of Elgar, who fell just 15 runs short of a double-century, was the only respite for India going into lunch. The rest of the batters folded quickly, with Jansen left stranded at the other end on 84.

Dean Elgar registered his second-highest score in Test cricket and the highest against India.

With a massive lead of 163 runs, the visitors needed a special effort to stay in the game. But the South African pacers proved too hot to handle as India lost their openers in the first six overs.

Shubman Gill, one of the two batters in the innings to get to double-digit scores, looked good during his stay at the crease but was cleaned up by Jansen before tea. Wickets continued to tumble after the break as Virat Kohli battled alone to reach his fifty.

India were bowled out for 131, of which Kohli scored 76 runs and was the last wicket to fall.

The action heads to Cape Town for the final Test of the series, starting in the new year on 3 January.

Source : ICC
 
Lets be brutally honest, the WC final humiliation is still playing on Indian team's mind.

The real question is, after Kohli, who is the next MRF Genius?
 
Champ_Pal said:
India is good enough to beat SA in their own conditions. India has a habit of starting slowly in most away tours. I am sure they will put up a much better performance next Test.
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True but this was a terrible performance. Normally you can't say Ind teams lack heart but this one did
 
AAli98 said:
If sharma & Dravid hadn’t pitch doctored & played fair throughout the World Cup the final loss would have been easier to take !!
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Do you know what average pitch means? It just mean bowlers have little bit help.. a good pitch means batsman can scores runs easily, that's how icc rates the pitch..
 
FearlessRoar said:
This happens when you secure the first spot in the rankings by dominating other teams in home conditions.
Click to expand...

Lets see,

Last WTC India beat Australia in Australia.

Drew 2-2 with England in England.

Lost 2-1 to SA.

Beat everyone in India.

Which team had a better away performance?

And which Indian pitch is a flat track?
 
How much will this hurt India in the long run?

==

India have been penalised for maintaining a slow over-rate in the first Test against South Africa in Centurion.

Rohit Sharma's side has been docked two crucial ICC World Test Championship points in the opening Test against South Africa for bowling two overs short and has also been fined 10% of their match fee.

Chris Broad of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after India were ruled to be two overs short of the target.

After the Test loss, India found themselves at No.5 with 16 points from three Tests and a points percentage of 44.44.

However, the deduction of points for the slow-over rate further weakens India's position in the standings, causing them to slip below Australia to No.6, with 14 points and a points percentage of 38.89.

ICC

WTC-Table-29-Dec.png
 
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I really enjoyed the match.

South Africa still a very tricky locale for India in Test cricket. It could be their final frontier.

India had a bad day yesterday but there were some positive signs in this game despite the defeat. Kohli, Rahul, Bumrah.

India can bounce back here for 1-1.
 
South Africa playing with fire here. Already the usual 3 test matches series down to 2 and unless they don't let India win, we might just stop touring them all together!
 
James said:
I really enjoyed the match.

South Africa still a very tricky locale for India in Test cricket. It could be their final frontier.

India had a bad day yesterday but there were some positive signs in this game despite the defeat. Kohli, Rahul, Bumrah.

India can bounce back here for 1-1.
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Final frontier narrative is all gas. We haven't won a test series in Eng or NZ or SA since the last 15 years, despite repeated tours.
 
James said:
I really enjoyed the match.

South Africa still a very tricky locale for India in Test cricket. It could be their final frontier.

India had a bad day yesterday but there were some positive signs in this game despite the defeat. Kohli, Rahul, Bumrah.

India can bounce back here for 1-1.
Click to expand...
Should possess proper bowling unit first, and then you need proper positive batsmen (Presence of magic players like Thakur, Sundar, etc won't work here - In Australia such players with determination can click. But not here in South Africa, you need to exploit the seam movement as a bowler, and you need to counter the same - seam movement when you bat! So you need to possess proper skills as a player) Bowlers should pick 20 wickets and they need endurance for it, and batsman should play positively (with good Strike rate) in addition to countering seam...

India did well last time when they won the first match, I thought that time they will conquer this final frontier. But they somehow slipped off after that. Bowling unit was much better though. Even in the series before, they made some selection mistakes and couldn't score at proper run rate (If you see those innings - Indian Batsmen had played more overs compared to South Africa in almost all the 4 innings of all 3 matches, but they failed to score at a better rate, which cost them the series! It was a 200ish close batting shootouts...)

This time I had zero hopes, mainly because of depleted bowling lineup (No Shami. Also Siraj is not in the leagues of someone like at least Ishant...) Also I think India should think of playing Kuldeep ahead of Jadeja/Ashwin in overseas tests even if it affects the batting... (Until they find a batsman who can bowl some spin).
 
SA dominated India in this test match. India's poor overseas record continues.
 
happydavy said:
Final frontier narrative is all gas. We haven't won a test series in Eng or NZ or SA since the last 15 years, despite repeated tours.
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Referred as Final Frontier because Indians have never ever won in SA, it doesn't matter about ENG or NZ, Indians have won test series there.
 
Romali_rotti said:
Referred as Final Frontier because Indians have never ever won in SA, it doesn't matter about ENG or NZ, Indians have won test series there.
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agree… the seam movement combined with occasional steepling bounce makes Test cricket in SA a huge challenge for a subcontinent side.
 
Lack of preparation could easily be seen. Everyone was sleep walking. Rohit sharma as a test captain is a joke. You need to cosntantly motivate your players and keep them in good spirits. I kinda expect some losses for an year or two as transition stage has started. New guys will take a while to adapt to different conditions. old guys will try to stay relevant as long as possible. SA bowlers know how to bowl on that pitch. Swing and seam. Outplayed thoroughly. Both teams humiliate each other in their respective home. Pitch is prepared like that.
 
James said:
agree… the seam movement combined with occasional steepling bounce makes Test cricket in SA a huge challenge for a subcontinent side.
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You need right combination of bowlers there. India has no tall bowlers. No real swing bowlers either. Almost all are the hit the deck bowlers
 
Iyer is not a test class Player outside the subcontinent .
Jaiswal and gill are playing first time in South Africa so I still give them a chance .
Prasidh Krishna is rubbish Bowler should replace by Mukesh Kumar. Mukesh is very dangerous Bowlers in swinging conditions .
Hope india bounce back and win the second and last test match to draw the series.
 
Technics 1210 said:
Lets be brutally honest, the WC final humiliation is still playing on Indian team's mind.

The real question is, after Kohli, who is the next MRF Genius?
Click to expand...
All excuses. In these conditions they just don't know how to play.
 
James said:
agree… the seam movement combined with occasional steepling bounce makes Test cricket in SA a huge challenge for a subcontinent side.
Click to expand...
I have to give it to Saffers, the wickets they create are similar to the old Perth Waca wicket with the addition of seam movement.

You have to be not only a top class batsmen but also very disciplined to score runs on these types of wickets.

Bounciest wicket in Aus is now Brisbane and no way does the Gabba wicket have any bounce and pace like the SA wickets, especially like the wicket they used to dismantle the Indians yesterday.
 
If Shreyas Iyer wants to be part of Indian Test Team, then he should practice some part-time spin bowling. In this way he can keep both Ashwin & Jadeja out of the team (overseas tests). This will give better balance to the team. He can bat at No.6 even with his weakness against pace/short-ball. If he is incapable of this, then India should look at other players who can do this role (someone like Tilak Varma).

This (balance) is one of the main reasons why India fails especially in SEN (except Australia where you can get away with this) You need 6 solid batsmen (among them 1 should be part-time spinner which is enough for SEN, In Australia you may need a specialist spinner at times) + 1 wicket keeper batsman + 4 proper seam/swing bowlers (1 or 2 among them capable of holding bat will be added advantage).

Without this combination we can never win in SEN. Without Pant now, we will even fail in Australia (India somehow punched above its weight under his immense contribution & positivity). But even Pant was not enough in SEN (India needs the above balance to succeed here)
 
Few things that I felt were reasons for our mauling at the hands of SAffers.

Extremely shaky top/middle order - some of them not warranting a place in playing xi that too against such tough opponents as SA in tricky conditions.

Non-existing bowling attack. Playing with Poor choice of bowlers and questionable tactics by the captain (under using Ashwin while over using Prasidh n Thakur for most part).

Usefulness of Dravid as the Coach who is as uninspiring as he was during his last tour to SA.

I am afraid, We are in for some more humiliation in the new year’s test.
 
avidlearner said:
Few things that I felt were reasons for our mauling at the hands of SAffers.

Extremely shaky top/middle order - some of them not warranting a place in playing xi that too against such tough opponents as SA in tricky conditions.

Non-existing bowling attack. Playing with Poor choice of bowlers and questionable tactics by the captain (under using Ashwin while over using Prasidh n Thakur for most part).

Usefulness of Dravid as the Coach who is as uninspiring as he was during his last tour to SA.

I am afraid, We are in for some more humiliation in the new year’s test.
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India has the longest tail in the world. Usually worth 10 runs. So top order/middle order collapses is not an option.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
India has the longest tail in the world. Usually worth 10 runs. So top order/middle order collapses is not an option.
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This (fragile tail) has been the case for some time now. Don’t know why our think tank hasn’t bothered to address this in any possible manner.

Likes of Rohit, Gill, Iyer are all walking wickets in these pacer friendly conditions. In a long run, we need to find all weather batters at least 3 of them if not 5 in our top/middle order.
 
Team India's performance as an overseas test team has been disappointing. This is still a very good LOI team across continents, an unbeatable test team at home, but overseas tests have been a big question mark.
 
SENA is up right now against AsianBloc. Let’s bounce back bros. Pause.
 
This humiliating defeat is just a culmination of events post the shameful and greedy departure from England in 2021 after winning the 4th Test at the Oval. Pretty much everything went downhill post that drama and the disingenuity went to another level later that year in Cape Town where our players childishly accused the host broadcasters of cheating.

Appointments of Rahul Dravid as head coach (when he didn't want to) and Rohit Sharma as an all format captain at 35 was the final nail in the coffin.
 
Indian team is in a transition phase and these (momentarily) defeats are to be expected. Our golden generation of test cricket between 2015-2021 is over. Fast bowlers like Shami & Bumrah getting old and we need to immediately rope in some young seamers. Even in the batting department Rohit and Kohli is in their last leg and we must show patience with Jaiswal, Gill, Iyer etc. By early 2025 we should have a solid test team again.
 
Romali_rotti said:
Referred as Final Frontier because Indians have never ever won in SA, it doesn't matter about ENG or NZ, Indians have won test series there.
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I understand the logic but it doesn't make much sense in contemporary cricket. Its a broadcaster narrative to make it look like this team has achieved everything else and just the series victory against SA is pending. If after 10 tours you haven't won a test series then it's no accomplishment. If you haven't won a test series in England or NZ since the last 15 years when you tour there repeatedly then just winning against SA will not make you champions. When Australia called India their final frontier, it was because that particular team had won every away tour in the preceding 2-3 yrs, not in the preceding 30 years.
 
Mesozoic said:
This humiliating defeat is just a culmination of events post the shameful and greedy departure from England in 2021 after winning the 4th Test at the Oval. Pretty much everything went downhill post that drama and the disingenuity went to another level later that year in Cape Town where our players childishly accused the host broadcasters of cheating.

Appointments of Rahul Dravid as head coach (when he didn't want to) and Rohit Sharma as an all format captain at 35 was the final nail in the coffin.
Click to expand...
100% agree on that.
 
happydavy said:
I understand the logic but it doesn't make much sense in contemporary cricket. Its a broadcaster narrative to make it look like this team has achieved everything else and just the series victory against SA is pending. If after 10 tours you haven't won a test series then it's no accomplishment. If you haven't won a test series in England or NZ since the last 15 years when you tour there repeatedly then just winning against SA will not make you champions. When Australia called India their final frontier, it was because that particular team had won every away tour in the preceding 2-3 yrs, not in the preceding 30 years.
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Umm lets just agree to disagree, you are moving away from the point.

SA is the only country that can be truly referred to as the Final Frontier for the Indians because they have never won there be it 15, 30, 100 years, ever...
 
Romali_rotti said:
Umm lets just agree to disagree, you are moving away from the point.

SA is the only country that can be truly referred to as the Final Frontier for the Indians because they have never won there be it 15, 30, 100 years, ever...
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Next time lanka visits Australia, we all could call it final frontier for Lanka!
 
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