Proteas beat India in Newlands decider to win series

After two hard fought encounters, Cricket South Africa (CSA) could not have scheduled a more appropriate setting than Newlands in Cape Town to host the deciding third and final Test between South Africa and India to see who will hold aloft the Freedom Trophy.

India won the toss – for the third time in the series – and elected to bat.

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In the recent second Test, a battered and bruised Dean Elgar scored a heroic unbeaten 96* off 188 balls (309 mins) to see his side over the line to level the three match series 1-1.

Having lost the first Test in Centurion by 113 runs, the Proteas found themselves up against it again in Johannesburg.

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On a ‘minefield’ of a wicket, the home side’s batters had to endure the classy Indian attack to score 243 to win after having made only 229 in their first innings.

There was still a day remaining, but with rain forecast, Elgar and his team-mates paced their chase to take the win by the close of day four.

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That victory was the Proteas’ first success over the visitors for three years (L5) and their fifth win from their last eight Tests against all nations.

They will also be buoyed in the knowledge that India have never won a Test at Newlands from five attempts (D2, L3).

India’s defeat at Johannesburg was only their second from their last seven played (W4, D1, L1) and just their second from nine Tests played away from home (W5, D2).

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They will welcome back their regular captain and talisman, Virat Kohli, after he missed the second Test with back spasms just prior to the match.

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TEAMS:

South Africa

Dean Elgar (captain), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Kyle Verreynne (wkt), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi

India

KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wkt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav

Key battle

Now the leading wicket taker in the current series, Kagiso Rabada was given a stern talking to by the coaching staff prior to the last match for being ‘too laid back’, inspiring him to claim match figures of 6/141. He is likely to send down his accurate 140km/h plus deliveries at the series leading run-scorer – India’s KL Rahul – who has a century and a fifty already to his name.

Stat attack

– The last 10 head-to-head Tests have all had a winner.

– In the two Tests played in this series so far there have been nine 50+ scores, but only Rahul has scored a century.

– South Africa’s attack have had five of the top seven series best bowling figures in an innings, although Shardul Thakur’s 7/61 is the best of all.

– Marco Jansen has the best economy of both sides going at 1.82 runs per over, with Ravi Ashwin next best at 2.22 runs per over.

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