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When Kagiso Rabada got both hands on the shot that
Virat Kohli played over Marco Jansen’s head, he was airborne, horizontal
against the sight screen and squarely in front of the open-air media box.
Dean Elgar at long-off raised both arms as Rabada
touched down on the turf, ball in hand, and the large SuperSport Park crowd
burst the cork. When Elgar got to Rabada, who had stood up again, it fizzed,
bubbled, and sprayed out, and the two of them simultaneously hugged and leaped
into the air above the Highveld. Largely, South Africa had prevailed.
It has been over 13 years since they defeated India by
an innings on this identical pitch. Before this encounter, South Africa had
nine losses, five victories, and three draws versus India. Of those losses,
three occurred at home. Since then, they had suffered more losses than
victories against India. India was getting closer to crossing what they
referred to as the “final frontier” with each passing series; perhaps
they were at their closest two years ago when they won the first Test and South
Africa had to mount valiant defences in the other two to keep them at bay.
The pre-series conversation was dominated by their
desperate attempt to preserve their home record, since it held significance.
The main takeaway from all the changes in South African cricket over the past
ten years is that the country remains a strong force, and visiting this country
is still like entering a fortress. After the win, South Africa’s Test coach
Shukri Conrad declared, “It’s massive for us.” “We know what a
quality side India are and also what a quality side we are, especially at
home.”
Elgar and Rabada deserve the most recognition for
their celebration of taking the final wicket, which will go down as the match’s
iconic moment. They each contributed the most significant elements to the
match. With Elgar’s 185, South Africa managed to not only withstand but also
flourish against an aggressive Indian attack, batting just once in the end. It
was also his most fluid innings, and Conrad acknowledged that the magnitude of
his achievement merited discussion alongside the greatest of all time.
Rabada spearheaded the attack with both talent and
maturity as seen by his match numbers of 7 for 91. Rabada took his 14th Test
five-for when Rohit Sharma was removed for the seventh time in 11 innings,
setting the tone for India’s second-inning collapse while the rest of the pack
struggled with their lines and hardly challenged the stumps.
However, compliments were also given to the younger
players. In his debut, Nandre Burger bowled with good pace and aggressiveness,
taking 7 for 83. Another debutant, David Bedingham, scored 56 and combined with
Elgar for 131 runs to put South Africa on the verge of victory.
Jansen, who had a Test record of 84 before taking 3
for 36, was also somewhat vindicated. He bowled more skillfully than he had
since losing his way towards the end of the World Cup.
When you combine all of those factors and keep in mind
that South Africa is still a test team in the process of developing, their
success at SuperSport Park is even more remarkable. And South Africa appears to
be aware of it. The team anthem, generally saved for series victories, could be
heard from the locker room as dusk approached and the storm clouds parted.
However, this South African team has plenty reason to celebrate and let out a
deep breath since they cannot lose this series.