The two-match Test series between India and South Africa ended with both teams winning. However, India was the biggest winner because they went to the top of the ICC World Test Championship scores. The ICC says that India easily beat South Africa by seven wickets in Cape Town, picking up 12 important points that helped them move up the table. With their win in the first game of the series, South Africa was at the top of the WTC25 standings. After the loss, they only won 50% of the time, the same as New Zealand, Australia, and Bangladesh.
Indian has won two Tests, lost one, and tied one. South Africa has dropped to second place with one win and one loss. South Africa chose to bat first before the game, but they were bowled out for just 55 runs in 23.2 overs. Kyle Verreynne (15) and David Bedingham (12) were the only players to score more than 10 runs. The Proteas’ top and middle order were wiped out by Mohammed Siraj’s fiery 6/15 spell. Jasprit Bumrah (2/25) and Mukesh Kumar (0/2) also took wickets. India was 153/4 at one point in their first innings. Virat Kohli (46 in 59 balls, with six fours and a six), Rohit Sharma (39 in 50 balls, with seven fours), and Shubman Gill (36 in 55 balls, with five fours) all made good scores, but a Lungi Ngidi three-wicket over put them out for 153 all out in 34.5 overs. It was Ngidi (3/30), Kagiso Rabada (3/38) and Nandre Burger (3/42) who each took three wickets for SA.
At the end of the first day, SA was 62/3 in their second innings, with Aiden Markram (36) getting most of the runs. Dean Elgar, who was captain, scored 12 runs in his last Test game. Two of them were taken by Mukesh, and one was by Bumrah. The next day, Markram hit a brave hundred, 106 runs in 103 balls with 17 fours and two sixes. However, Bumrah’s six-wicket haul (6/61) bowled South Africa out for 176 runs in 36.5 overs, leaving India with just 79 runs to win. Two of the wickets were taken by Mukesh Kumar. Prasidh Krishna and Siraj each got one. India beat the score with 12 overs to spare thanks to important hits from openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (28) and captain Rohit Sharma (16). The “Player of the Match” award went to Siraj. The “Player of the Series” award went to Dean Elgar of South Africa and Bumrah of India.
This was also the fastest Test ever in terms of the number of balls bowled, beating a record that had stood for 92 years. The Test was over in just 642 balls, beating the previous record of 656 balls set in 1932 between Australia and South Africa. India will try to get more points in their upcoming home Test series against England, which starts on January 25 and has five games. It’s still early in the WTC25 cycle.
