Indian skipper Virat Kohli led his team to a win at Centurion in the final Test match in 2021. In the process, they became the first Asian team to win a Test match at this venue. India thus ends 2021 with a win and takes a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

The Centurion win was their fifth overall in South African conditions. Overall in 2021, India have won at Brisbane, Lord’s The Oval and at Centurion, reinforcing their domination in Test cricket.

India wrapped up the South African innings inside a session and a half. This happened after there were reports of inclement weather affecting the outcome of the game on day 5. Dean Elgar (77) started the day with Temba Bavuma (35*) as they had a 36-run stand. However, Jasprit Bumrah broke through for India and opened the floodgates for India.

The rest of the wickets fell in quick succession with Ravichandran Ashwin cleaning up the tail. The Indian bowlers in Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah built on the good work set up by KL Rahul and others. Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur played their part in the process as well. Shami ended with match figures of 8/107.

Virat Kohli, in the meantime, broke a few records as captain after this historic win at Centurion. Here is a look at the same.

40 Test Wins For Virat Kohli As Captain

First Captain To Win Two Test Matches in South Africa

Congratulations captain Virat Kohli and #TeamIndia
Well played by KL Rahul and Shammi#INDvSA #INDvsSA #ViratKohli #KingKohli #KLRahul #Shami pic.twitter.com/eNO5Ow9fNe

— 𝕷𝖎𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖓 🇮🇳 ⚖︎ (@ImLibran14_) December 30, 2021

Kohli became the first Indian captain to win two Test matches in South Africa, He won his first as captain back in the 2018 tour. India beat the hosts in the third Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg that year. The win at Centurion is the second for the Indian team in South Africa under his captaincy.

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First Indian Captain To Win Two Boxing Day Tests

Virat Kohli, the first Asian captain to win two Boxing Day Tests 🐐 pic.twitter.com/Cki7htUpEn

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 30, 2021

The Centurion win is Virat Kohli’s second win in a Boxing-Day Test match as captain. India wrapped up the South African innings inside a session and a half. This happened after there were reports of inclement weather affecting the outcome of the game on day 5.

His first Boxing-Day Test match win was against the Aussies in the third Test match in Melbourne from India’s 2018 tour down under. India also won the Test series under Kohli for the first time in Australia. The same was repeated by Ajinkya Rahane in 2021.

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First Indian Captain To Win Two Test Matches Against Australia, England And South Africa

https://twitter.com/RCBTeluguArmy/status/1476512577660149761?s=20

Kohli achieved the feat of winning two Test matches each against Australia, England and now South Africa. In the process, he remains the only Indian captain in Test matches to achieve the feat.

Despite his failure with the bat in the two innings, Virat Kohli was inch-perfect with his bowling changes which yielded the result effectively inside four days with the second day being rained out.

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