India batters were no match for South Africa pacers as the pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Burger ran through India’s entire batting line-up.
Nandre Burger’s sensational spell combined with South Africa’s all-rounded performance secured a win by an innings and 32 runs for the Proteas against India in the first Test on Thursday at the SuperSport Park.
Burger with his lethal bouncers and precise line and length pushed India batters back against the wall.
A game that seemed to be headed for the fourth day was concluded on the third day itself. India batters were no match for South Africa pacers as the pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Burger ran through India’s entire batting line-up.
🇿🇦THE PROTEAS LEAD THE FREEDOM SERIES
A mammoth all-round effort from the Proteas to take a 1-0 lead in the #Betway Test Series🇿🇦🇮🇳
What a victory by the boys 💪😅
The Final Frontier Continues 😎#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/MFWVAgphxS
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) December 28, 2023
Virat Kohli was the sole batter who knew how to churn out runs on a surface which proved to be too much for the rest of the batters.
India’s batting crumbled on Day 3
After a dismal start to their second innings, South Africa struck India hard by removing Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahu in quick succession.
After Burger removed Ravichandran Ashwin for a golden duck, India’s fate was more or less sealed.
Jasprit Bumrah’s runout following a brilliant effort in the field by Dean Elgar caused a mood of dismay. A brilliant review from the South Africa team saw Mohammed Siraj gloving the ball straight to the wicketkeeper.
Prasidh Krishna struggled hard but Jansen got the better of Kohli (76) which brought an end to India’s struggle within the first three days.
India’s top 3 failed to deliver
Earlier in the day, India skipper Rohit Sharma’s dreadful run in South Africa, especially against Kagiso Rabada continued. Rabada’s inward angling delivery left Rohit baffled as he failed to read the line which resulted in the ball crashing into the stumps.
The veteran right-handed batter got removed for an eight-ball duck and this dismissal marked his 7th in 11 innings against Rabada.
Yashasvi Jaiswal tried to leave the delivery, but the ball glanced off his glove and went straight to the wicketkeeper.
Shubamn Gill looked set to spend a good amount of time on the field but his attempt to play a shot across the straight line failed. Marco Jansen picked his first as Gill departed with a score of 26(37).