South Africa defeated India by 72 runs on the 4th day of first test match played at Cape Town. South Africa began the day on 65 for 2, Indian bowlers showed their class and bowled out the hosts for 130. Chasing 208, Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay put 30 runs stand but lost wickets at regular intervals. South Africa dismissed India for 135.
South Africa began the 4th day on 65 for 2. India got off to a great start in the morning session taking wickets of Hashim Amla, night-watchmen Rabada, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock during the first hour. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami bowled brilliantly. AB de Villiers showed his class with attacking strokes. At the other Keshav Maharaj also contributed few runs. AB de Villiers was the batsman to be dismissed for 35. South Africa was bowled out for 130.
Chasing the target of 208, Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay began on a steady note adding 30 runs. Both batsmen were dismissed with the same score of 30. Cheteshwar Pujara also could not contribute many runs. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma added 32 runs for the 4th wicket. Vernon Philander picked the important wicket of Kohli which changed the course of the game. India lost quick wickets to leave India at 82 for 7.
In the third session, Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar tried their best, added 49 runs for an 8th wicket. Philander took the important wicket of Ashwin. He took 2 more wickets to finish with figures of 6 for 42. South Africa won the match by 72 runs.
South Africa 286 in 73.1 overs ( AB de Villiers 65, Faf du Plessis 62, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4/87) and 130 in 41.2 overs ( AB de Villiers 35, Markram 34, Dean Elgar 25, Jasprit Bumrah 3/39, Mohammad Shami 3/28) beat
India 209 in 73. 4 overs ( Hardik Pandya 93, Pujara 26, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 25, Rabada 3/34, Philander 3/33 ) and 135 in 42.4 overs ( Ravichandran Ashwin 37, Virat Kohli 28, Vernon Philander 6/42) by 72 runs.
Captain Virat Kohli said: It was an amazing match to be a part off. With 208 runs as the target, we needed somebody to score 70 or 80, as 20 or 30 was not enough. It is putting up partnerships and needs to put runs on the board. In the first innings too, we dropped few chances, could have restricted them to 220. When you travel abroad, the attitude matters a lot.
South African captain Faf du Plessis said: The way we responded in tough situations was great. On the first day, the ball was moving around and lots of damage was done. It was surprising how the ball was moving during the match. It was a great match as there was competition between bat and ball.
Man of the match Vernon Philander: Our batting in the first innings was brilliant. On the first morning, India bowled brilliantly and took wickets during the morning session. With one pacer down, Morne Morkel and Rabada bowled well.
South Africa takes a 1-0 lead in three-match test series. The second test match will be played at Centurion from 13th January 2018.
