The Indian team managed to put the Proteas
out of their misery by the 4th day in Pune, registering an innings
and 137 run victory, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead and clinching the series
in the process. The hosts also managed to script history as they became to win
11 successive Test series at home, beating Australia’s 10 consecutive series
wins at home. This victory in Pune was the biggest over South Africa and the 10th
biggest Test win in the country’s history.
Overview of the match
The Indian batsmen gave an excellent
account of themselves and looked firmly in control of the tie since Day 1.
Mayank Agarwal managed to stun and impress once again, repeating his feats from
the first test and getting another century in the bag.
While the hero of the last test, Rohit
Sharma, got dismissed by Rabada early on, Virat Kohli entered the fray and
stamped his authority on the game, and how. With able support from Pujara,
Rahane and Jadeja, who all scored the fifties in the innings, Kohli went on a
rampage mission and did not leave an inch of ground for South African bowlers
before posting a total of 601 for 5.
With India firmly in the driver’s seat, Kohli decided to not go after the luring 300 and decided to declare the innings putting his team ahead of personal glory. The onus was now on the bowlers to deliver and they responded to their captain’s call.
Ashwin and Umesh Yadav took seven wickets
and bundled South Africa’s first innings for 275 despite some late resistance
from Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj. Still, with an insurmountable lead,
follow on was enforced and the Indian bowlers ran riot in the second innings to
dismiss the entire South African lineup for a mere 189 and clinching a titanic
win in the process. Umesh Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja got three wickets apiece.
Player of the match
Just when you think you’ve seen everything from the Indian skipper, he goes on to the field and outdoes himself time and again. Pune saw a magical innings from the willow of Virat whose consistency for the last decade has been remarkable, marking a special epoch in the history of the game.
Captain Kohli made all the headlines in Pune. Image: BCCI
Virat outdid the legendary Don Bradman by
getting his 9th 150-plus score as captain of a side. Virat also
reached 7000 runs in Tests and is now ahead of Bradman in that category as
well. This innings also made him the highest active scorer in Test cricket.
For someone who has broken, engraved and
rewritten a plethora of records in the sport, it shouldn’t come as a surprise
that he is reaching higher peaks even at this stage of his career.
“It’s about getting the responsibility back
of being a captain (on scoring the double hundred). The mindset is always to
help the team and in that process, the big scores come. I think the moment you
start thinking about the team, all the pressure goes away. I am at a stage in
my career where I am happy to play for my team,” said the skipper after his
astounding feat.
Moment of the match
Having taken time to pace his innings until he scored 150, Virat decided to put his foot on the gas while maintaining the same caution. He remained unfazed even after getting his double century and was relentless in his beating of South African bowling spells. Virat’s immense innings, his career-best total of 254 put as much distance between both the sides in the game as there is between the countries and helped seal the series for India.
Stats from the match
India made history by becoming the Test side with the most consecutive series victories at home (11), overtaking Australia’s 10. India hasn’t lost a single Test at home since 2012. This was India’s biggest victory over South Africa in Test cricket and it's tenth biggest margin of victory overall.
Team India already has 200 points in the World Test Championships.
There were records galore for the Indian
skipper as well. He registered the third-most wins as captain in the first 50
Tests behind Steve Waugh (37) and Ricky Ponting (35). Kohli being felicitated
with the man of the match award was the 55th time in his career and
he is only behind the great Sachin Tendulkar (76), Sanath Jayasuriya (58) and
Jacques Kallis (57) on the list.
On the other hand, Mayank Agarwal became
only the second Indian opener to register tons in back-to-back Test matches
against South Africa since Sehwag in 2010.
Where do Team India play next?
Team India take on South Africa in the third and final test in Ranchi from 19th October 2019.