South Africa vs India 2021-22, 1st Test – Who Said What

India and South Africa played the opening Test of the three-match series in Centurion and the visiting side breached yet another overseas fortress to stand tall in world cricket. Virat Kohli and his men won the Boxing Day Test by 113 runs despite no boast-worthy contribution from the batters in the second innings. Winning the toss on day one, guests chose to walk with willows first where KL Rahul’s century stole the limelight and pushed India to put 327 runs on the board. He was declared as the player of the match, eventually.

Lungi Ngidi’s six-for disturbed India on day three to stretch their innings and the hosts walked down to bat. Mohammed Shami’s perfect line and length became instrumental in him picking a classy five-for while wrapping up the opposite end on just 197 runs. For the second innings, Indian batters didn’t have much to offer on the field and the entire side was in the dugout with 174 runs on board.

India bowlers make it quick for the team on day five

When South Africa walked to chase the300 runs plus target, they lost four wickets by the end of day four and adamant Indian bowlers left no stone unturned to bring the victory quickly for the team on day five. Dean Elgar’s fighting 77 did make a mark but was not enough for the team to chase the gigantic target in front.

Winning skipper, Virat Kohli said:

Got off to the perfect start. Have to understand one day was washed out – shows how well we played. It’s always a difficult place to play against SA (Centurion). The discipline that the batters showed. Winning the toss, batting first overseas is a tough challenge. Credit to Mayank and KL the way they set it up. We knew we were in pole position with anything over 300-320. Knew the bowlers will do the job. Spoke about it in the change room – the fact he didn’t bowl much in the first innings, it allowed SA to get around 40 more runs (Bumrah). Just the way these guys bowl together has been a hallmark of our team getting a result in difficult situations. Absolutely world class talent (Shami). For me he’s in the best three seamers in the world at the moment. His strong wrist, his seam position and his ability to hit a length consistently. Got so much confidence out of Johannesburg last time. It’s a ground we love playing at.

Losing skipper, Dean Elgar said:

Obviously not a nice thing knowing we lost a Test here. Did a few things wrong. Lot of positives coming out that we can use in the next two. Always the nature here. Always going to be tough because the wicket’s playing slower (first morning). Indian openers did the fundamentals right. We didn’t quite execute the lengths well. After some good chats our bowlers executed the lengths and restricted India to what we thought was a par score. New ball is something you have to get through playing here. Can’t emphasise enough on the hard work our bowlers put in to get 20 wickets. Our batters let us down. I’d say the batting was the difference between the two sides. We’ll have a little sit-down with myself and the management to strategise. Didn’t do a lot of wrong things. Not all doom and gloom for us. We thrive under the pressure which is a positive for us.

Player of the match, KL Rahul said:

The grit and determination – really wanted to get my team off to a good start. On a challenging pitch the opening partnership is crucial. Really happy with my performance. Don’t think I’ve made too many technical changes. It’s about my mindset, how calm and disciplined I am. It’s all coming nicely now. Discipline I’ve shown has been the biggest contribution for me in performing away from home. It’s something I’m proud of (his overseas hundreds). Kept us on the park a little lesser (Shami). Fast bowling unit have shown a lot of heart, not just today but the last few years. Happy with the way Shami bowled and the way other guys chipped in as well. Shami gets the ball to do a little bit extra as Virat said. Very very special coming to SA. This win gives us a lot of confidence. Want to keep getting better as individuals and try to win another Test in few days time.