SA VS IND TESTS

Right then! That is it from the coverage of this enthralling Test at Wanderers. The series is levelled at 1-1 and the action now shifts to Newlands, Cape Town for the final and the deciding Test match of this series. It will commence on 11th January, 2022. Day 1 of this Test will begin at 2 pm IST (8.30 am GMT). But as all of you are aware, the buildup will begin well in advance and make sure you join us for the same. Till then, cheers and take care!

Dean Elgar, the South African skipper is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his brilliant performance with the bat. He says that there is no wrong or right way to win the game. He adds that the fundamentals of the game are important and they lacked that in the last game and this win was tough as they did the fundamentals right here. He mentions that bowlers showed a lot of character to get 20 wickets on this pitch. He mentions that it is his privilege to represent the country. He adds that his knocks can be ugly for some but it is okay to take blows and the bigger picture is to win the game of cricket. He adds that a lot of testimony should go to batters as have been preparing to build this batting unit for a long time. The conditions were difficult and he is glad that they won. Tells that Rassie van der Dussen's 40 will go a long way in his career and he showed a lot of character. He adds that they had a talk with Rabada in the dressing room and he has that attitude and fire to perform and overall it’s a team effort and getting 20 wickets is not easy. He adds that he is not sure how Cape Town surface will be and mentions that Newlands, Cape Town is his favourite ground in the world.

KL Rahul, the skipper of India, says that they wanted to win and they always want to play a good brand of cricket. Adds that he is a bit disappointed but credits South Africa for the way they batted and bowled. Tells that getting 122 on Day 4 wasn't going to be easy but the South African batters played really well. Mentions that they could have batted slightly better in the first innings and got 50-60 runs more. Adds that Shardul Thakur had a great Test match and he bowled and batted really well. Talking about Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahul says that they both are world-class batters and they had team's backing. Says that Virat should be fine for the next game as he has batted a bit in the nets and has also been running around on the field. Tells that they will monitor Siraj for the next game and hopefully he will be fine for the last Test.

Stay tuned for the presentation.

The pitch at Wanderers is expected to be tricky for the batters and we witnessed that right from Day 1 as the South African bowlers dominated the proceedings and bundled out India for 202 in the first innings. The youngster, Marco Jansen was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets while it was Lord Shardul Thakur who ruled Day 2 as he picked seven wickets to restrict South Africa to 229. South Africa still managed a lead of 27 runs with useful fifties from Keegan Petersen and Bavuma. India needed their experienced duo of Pujara and Rahane to fire on Day 3 and they delivered with counter-attacking fifties and South Africa were eventually set a target of 240 to win this game. In the end, some astute batting by South Africa, led by their skipper, took them home in a tricky chase and this is a big win for this South African team that is trying to build towards a new era in their Test cricket history.

India needed 8 wickets this morning and with this pitch known to produce wickets in a cluster, India were in with a good chance. But the South African batters batted positively and never let the Indian bowlers settle. Shami did get the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen but India were denied any further breakthrough and they have finally lost a Test match at Wanderers. India will have to wait for Cape Town for their first-ever Test series victory in the rainbow nation.

South African batters showed great application on the pitch that had enough help for the bowlers to trouble the batters regularly. It was their skipper, Dean Elgar who led from the front and some useful contributions from other top-order batters have taken them to a rather comfortable victory on Day 4 here. Quite fittingly, it was the experienced pair of Elgar and Bavuma who finished things off for South Africa. This means a lot to South African cricket.

What a fascinating Test match this has been as momentum kept tilting from one team to another and finally, South Africa have trumped India to level the series here at Wanderers. They win by 7 wickets and have beaten India at the Wanderers in Test cricket for the first time.

FOUR! There it is! Dean Elgar, South Africa's skipper hits the winning runs and he is pumped! Ashwin tosses it up, around middle. Elgar heaves it over the mid-wicket fielder and finishes things off with a boundary. What a chase this has been from the Proteas! Dean Elgar, take a bow! SOUTH AFRICA WIN THE MATCH BY 7 WICKETS AND LEVEL THE THREE-MATCH SERIES 1-1!

Loopy ball, around off. Dean Elgar looks to drive but it goes off the inner half of the blade back towards the bowler.

Flatter and quicker, around middle. Bavuma nudges it towards deep mid-wicket and takes a single. South Africa need just 1 run to win!

Tossed up, outside off. Dean Elgar presses forward and carves it to deep cover for one.

Length ball, angling in from leg. Temba Bavuma clips it to the leg side for a couple of runs.

FOUR! That is a cracking shot from Bavuma! A bumper, around middle. Bavuma swivels and pulls it behind square on the leg side for a boundary.

Bavuma pulls off again! Siraj moves near mid on as Thakur was loading up to bowl and that makes him pull off. Thakur and Indian players are furious!

Full ball, outside off and shaping away late. Temba Bavuma looks to drive but it goes off the outer half of the blade towards backward point.

On a length, around off. Temba Bavuma prods and defends it to the off side.