Player of the Match
Player of the Match
  • BATSMEN
    R
    B
    M
    4s
    6s
    SR
    8.4 caught behind! Runs on this pitch, against this attack, are a mere illusion. This is a full ball - perhaps even a half-volley to a batsman who isn't hanging back, desperate to have a little more time to read the direction of seam movement - and Vijay goes at it with all hands. The cover drive becomes an outside edge and South Africa celebrate again 13/2
    3.1 caught behind! Inside edge, deflects off the thigh pad, de Kock needs to dive to his left, always the wrong side for a wicketkeeper, and he pulls off a good grab. It's no fun being an opener in conditions like this, against a bowler like Philander who keeps pegging away on a good length, in line with off stump, demanding a shot, and laughing in your face with just the tiniest bit of movement to beat the middle of the bat 7/1
    61.3 the edge! The Pujara edge! It exists! His gameplan has been to play with soft hands, and the original line. Against the other quicks, the ball moved far too much, so he got beaten on the outswinger, or he took blows on the inswinger. Phehlukwayo pitches this up outside off, gets just the tiniest slant going into the right-hander, enough to snatch the nick 144/5
    42.4 edged and taken this time. AB de Villiers somehow takes it, at third slip. A tad overpitched outside off, Kohli sees a run-scoring opportunity and drives, but the ball moves away ever so late. He moved wider of the crease, and found just enough lateral movement to find the outside edge. It flies to third slip, where de Villiers has not seen it. And the ball is flying to him at an awkward height - go reverse cupped or hands down. In the end, he does neither but takes it. Excellent captaincy from du Plessis, against Kohli in fine form, it could have been so easy to push the third slip away to a defensive position, but he had the third slip with lots of lateral movement on this surface. 97/3
    51.4 136 kph, full on leg, and Rahane is given! He decides to review, does Rahane. The no-ball check is fine, is it sliding down? The only way Rahane gets away with this is if it's missing leg stump completely. It is not. Clipping the side of leg stump and the umpire's call stands. Kohli is bemused, not entirely sure why. It was right in the slot for a flick, one of the more productive areas for Rahane, but he just plain misses it. The ball may have moved further too. That's more not out than out, but not a bad decision because if the pad wasn't there, it would have clipped the leg stump. 113/4
    62.2 caught behind! He goes for the cut - there's just a tiny bit of room, he takes the shot on. It's one of his favourites, but he doesn't account for Morkel's ability to extract bounce, even from helpless pitches. Goes off the top edge and de Kock does beautifully to leap up, shove his hands up over his head, to his right and take it, while making it look ever so easy 144/6
    63.2 top edge and it's gone straight up and de Kock pulls off another stunner! He runs halfway to the boundary. Running back, as well, looking over his shoulder. The ball swirls in the air, veering to the right. De Kock adjusts his bearing, reaches out and takes it superbly. Pandya's probably going to get a little flak for the shot he's played - a vicious pull when he has no room to free the arms - but with only the tail left, he probably felt he had to get as many runs as quickly as possible. 144/7
    76.4 136 kph, caught at wide mid-on and India's innings is shut out for 187. A bouncer around middle and leg, Bhuvneshwar can't time his pull, is very late on the stroke. So the timing is bad, chipped to Phehlukwayo, who runs to his right and takes a good catch! 187/10
    67.5 taken at mid-off this time! Shami swings. He loses the grip of his bat as he swings. And the ball goes off the toe end offering a simple grab to Rabada 163/8
    72.1 taken! Rabada's second for the day. Faf is an exceptional slip fielder, he knows exactly what he has to do. It's full on off, this one doesn't move much, which is why it finds the edge. Philander had been moving it too much. Takes a thick outside edge. It's low to Faf, but he realises it's straight at him, so the third slip fielder can't dive across to his left to intercept it. So he goes forward quickly and takes a quality catch, makes hard catches look really simple. 166/9
    not out
    0
    7
    23
    0
    0
    0.00
    Extras
    26 (b 10, lb 8, nb 2, w 6)
    TOTAL
    187 all out (76.4 Overs, RR: 2.43, 353 minutes)
    Fall of wickets: 1-7 (KL Rahul, 3.1 ov), 2-13 (Murali Vijay, 8.4 ov), 3-97 (Virat Kohli, 42.4 ov), 4-113 (Ajinkya Rahane, 51.4 ov), 5-144 (Cheteshwar Pujara, 61.3 ov), 6-144 (Parthiv Patel, 62.2 ov), 7-144 (Hardik Pandya, 63.2 ov), 8-163 (Mohammed Shami, 67.5 ov), 9-166 (Ishant Sharma, 72.1 ov), 10-187 (Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 76.4 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEconWDNB
    M Morkel1754722.7611
    VD Philander19103121.6301
    K Rabada18.463932.0810
    L Ngidi1572711.8000
    AL Phehlukwayo712523.5700
  • BATSMEN
    R
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    4s
    6s
    SR
    12.3 outstanding bowling! India have been searching for this ball all morning. The one that pitches in line with leg stump. The one that draws the left-hander forward. The one that seams away just enough to snatch the edge through to the keeper. Can't do much about that except shake your head and walk off. 16/2
    2.3 edged and gone. Bhuvneshwar strikes early. He didn't need to play at the previous one, he didn't need to play at this. Back of a length outside off, Markram stays tall, looking to defend the ball. Against a new ball, on a seaming pitch, I see no reason why Markram had to play at that, he did, the ball moves away and takes the outside edge. Well bowled, but bad shot. 3/1
    29.6 taken at gully and it's a sharp catch too from Rahane, getting his hands up in front of his face and snagging it reverse cup. So Rabada has to go, after exceeding everyone's expectations save perhaps his own, done in by a peach of a ball. Back of a length on leg stump, hurtling away off the seam, squaring up the batsman and taking the edge at the high part of the bat. Standing ovation for the nightwatchman who has blunted 84 deliveries, from the new ball too. 80/3
    59.5 oh he's gonna rue middling that shot. After being beaten; tested on the inside and outside edges, he hits it perfectly off the sweet spot. A very full ball on leg stump - the kind he makes disappear - ends up in the hands of deep square leg. India celebrate. They still have a slight lead. And the last specialist batsman is gone. What an innings though from the Mighty mighty Hash. That little change to his technique; the bravery to do so on viciously tough conditions and the aptitude to not just survive but thrive. 169/7
    36.4 what a ball! Takes a peach to bowl AB neck and crop! Pshaw. This is swing. And it's devastating swing. The ball starts at about sixth stump. And then hurtles in at middle with a vengeance. AB doesn't get a full stride forward. He brings out a forceful shot down the ground. Even then the ball zips through the defences and middle stump is flattened 92/4
    41.4 lets it go and loses his off stump! He stands and stares at the pitch, perhaps wondering why it hasn't made the ball bounce over the wickets. But Bumrah, when he pitches it up, gets balls to skid through and there's that exaggerated angle into the right-hander as well. 107/5
    47.2 inside edge to the keeper. De Kock goes for the on-the-up drive and presents a big gap between bat and pad. Bumrah exploits it with just enough help from the pitch, making the ball move against the angle, miss the middle, snag a good chunk of wood through to Parthiv 125/6
    62.2 superbly judged catch at long leg! Bumrah's the man, watching the ball intently, moving to his right simultaneously and taking a big pressure catch. The bouncer works and Shami finally has something in the wickets column. Gets it to climb high enough so when the batsman goes for a hook, he can't really control the shot because the ball keeps getting big on him. Top edge results and a good catch seals the exciting passage of play 175/8
    65.3 strikes him on the full in front of leg and he's gone. But Phehlukwayo has reviewed. A Bumrah full toss. And it's a pretty devastating full toss too. Fast, swinging in just enough that the batsman's flick shot is of little use. HawkEye returns three reds 194/9
    not out
    9
    8
    22
    2
    0
    112.50
    65.5 maiden five-for! He completes it with a short ball down leg, which Ngidi gloves through to the wicketkeeper. Parthiv takes a fine catch, running to his left and then putting in the dive. 194/10
    Extras
    23 (lb 14, w 9)
    TOTAL
    194 all out (65.5 Overs, RR: 2.94, 328 minutes)
    Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Aiden Markram, 2.3 ov), 2-16 (Dean Elgar, 12.3 ov), 3-80 (Kagiso Rabada, 29.6 ov), 4-92 (AB de Villiers, 36.4 ov), 5-107 (Faf du Plessis, 41.4 ov), 6-125 (Quinton de Kock, 47.2 ov), 7-169 (Hashim Amla, 59.5 ov), 8-175 (Vernon Philander, 62.2 ov), 9-194 (Andile Phehlukwayo, 65.3 ov), 10-194 (Lungi Ngidi, 65.5 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEconWDNB
    B Kumar1994432.3120
    JJ Bumrah18.525452.8610
    I Sharma1423312.3500
    Mohammed Shami1204613.8320
    HH Pandya20301.5000
  • BATSMEN
    R
    B
    M
    4s
    6s
    SR
    25
    127
    194
    1
    0
    19.68
    40.5 bowled him! The defence has been so good from Vijay, but Rabada has found a way through it. Falls before lunch. Superb bowling. Fires a yorker, in at middle stump. Vijay looks to get the bat down but he's late on it 100/4
    4.6 out caught at third slip! Looks like a lose lbw shout at first, but there's a big inside edge on this. He's looking for the flick again with his feet moving belatedly as he tries to drag this against the angle. From outside off. Big deflection onto his pad and it lobs up a few yards in front of Markram at gully. Dies on him rapidly but he leaps and slides and holds on 17/1
    18.6 Philander drags the batsman forward and draws the outside edge, which is pouched by Faf du Plessis at second slip. Smart, chest-high catch from the SA captain. Rahul fails to add to his overnight score. Philander dangled it up full and wide outside off, it wobbles away further. Rahul goes searching for the ball with a loose push away from the body and nicks it behind. One can bring two or three or four on this pitch 51/2
    21.6 Bursts from a good length, straightens away, snatches the outside edge, and flies to the right of Faf at second slip. Batting keeps getting tougher at Jo'burg. Angling in, Morne, as often, generates extra bounce, the pitch assists him, and the outside edge is found near the shoulder of the bat. The line was pretty close to off stump or on, which meant Pujara had to play. What a snorter from Morkel - that was unplayable 57/3
    41
    79
    131
    6
    0
    51.89
    49.2 Fast offcutter at 143ks, breaks through the defences of Kohli and hits the off stump. Back of a length, swerves back in, Kohli presses forward but the deviation is so sharp that it beats him and knocks back the off stump. Nevertheless, top innings on a pitch with wild variations in bounce. Forty-one runs at a strike-rate of over 50 on this pitch is gold 134/5
    67.3 another appeal for a catch down the leg side, Rahane has tickled this behind off the bat. Umpire Gould raises his finger and sends Rahane back. SA third-time lucky. Belting catch from de Kock, he pulls out a full-length dive to his left and snags a two-handed catch. Full and angling down the leg side, if Rahane had got more bat onto it, it would have rolled away to the boundary. Forty eight at a strike-rate of 70.58. Played, Rahane. Will it turn out to be a match-winning innings? 203/7
    53.1 plucks it one-handed in his follow through. Length ball outside off, Pandya walks down the pitch and pokes at it with hard hands. Nowhere near the pitch and it's an instinctive grab from Rabada as this lobs back at him. Throws it back towards the batsman - probably also instinctive - and apologises straightaway 148/6
    77.2 Morkel runs in from around the wicket and bounces out Bhuvneshwar. Tickled off the splice to De Kock for a simple catch. Short, angling away, fended behind 240/9
    74.4 Shami hoicks and finds AB at deep square leg. Short on middle, he rocks back and muscles it straight to the fielder. He walks away with 27 off 28 balls. His strike-rate of 96 on this pitch is the fantasy of every batsman 238/8
    not out
    7
    16
    25
    1
    0
    43.75
    80.1 .... and Philander immediately wraps up India for 247. Full and slanting away outside off, Bumrah swipes against the angle and skies a catch to Rabada at midwicket 247/10
    Extras
    29 (b 5, lb 12, w 12)
    TOTAL
    247 all out (80.1 Overs, RR: 3.08, 384 minutes)
    Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Parthiv Patel, 4.6 ov), 2-51 (KL Rahul, 18.6 ov), 3-57 (Cheteshwar Pujara, 21.6 ov), 4-100 (Murali Vijay, 40.5 ov), 5-134 (Virat Kohli, 49.2 ov), 6-148 (Hardik Pandya, 53.1 ov), 7-203 (Ajinkya Rahane, 67.3 ov), 8-238 (Mohammed Shami, 74.4 ov), 9-240 (Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 77.2 ov), 10-247 (Jasprit Bumrah, 80.1 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEconWDNB
    VD Philander21.156132.8800
    K Rabada2356933.0010
    M Morkel2164732.2320
    L Ngidi1223813.1600
    AL Phehlukwayo301505.0010
  • BATSMEN
    R
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    4s
    6s
    SR
    1.6 has he edged that? Yes he has! It's a short ball swinging away, very wide outside off. It's not one he should be playing as an opener. He probably thinks that way too, but his decision to leave comes to him late, after he has already opened his arms to try and cut. It lifts a touch and he fends away from the body. A thin edge, gratefully pouched by Parthiv 5/1
    not out
    86
    240
    356
    9
    1
    35.83
    52.4 splendid catch! It's the flick, the shot that has fetched Amla thousands of runs, even on this incredibly testing pitch. His world-renowned timing is on show too. But regardless of all that, Pandya has a job to do. He dives to his right, plucks it out of thin air and gives India the lift they need so badly. Amla walks back to a grateful Wanderers crowd, not to mention those team-mates back in the hut. He's played two ridiculously good innings. And now cedes the stage to another heavyweight batsman 124/2
    55.6 taken at gully. India are back. A back of a length delivery kicks up a bit more than de Villiers thinks, it also straightens enough to snatch the edge right off the shoulder of the bat and settle safely in Rahane's hands. This X-factor is why India persisted with Bumrah on this tour and despite looking their weakest bowler in this innings, he has dismissed one of the world's best batsmen 131/3
    60.6 knocks him over as the ball keeps low. Ishant hits back of a length, it cuts back in off the seam, showing no indication it would for three-quarters of the distance down the pitch. Faf often has a gap between bat and pad because of that strange grip he's got, forcing his bat to come down from gully towards mid-on. The same happens here, after a little bit of shenanigans from the pitch 144/4
    63.1 pins him lbw! Very little de Kock can do when a 139 kph delivery, pitching short, comes in at the height of the knee-roll. He can't adjust to the ball that quick, doing that much. Amid the celebrations, Kohli seems to point somewhere in a manner that suggests "stop talking." 145/5
    67.3 chops on going for a pull shot. There's no feet here. All hands, forcing the ball when it's not quite short enough for the shot, or wide enough for that matter. 157/6
    67.6 knocks him over! An uncertain forward press from Phehlukwayo to a pretty full, fast delivery outside off. Piggy-backs off the inside edge and onto the stumps. Double-wicket over and the Wanderers is stunned 157/7
    68.6 taken at first slip. Rabada's airy-fairy drive pings off the outside edge and lands safely in Pujara's hands. Reward for Bhuvi banging away on a good length. Gets enough seam movement away from the angle from around the wicket to beat the middle of the bat but not the entire thing. 160/8
    69.5 yorker! From looking under par to unplayable! It's 137 kph. It's from around the stumps and it's hunting the base of middle stump. Morkel cannot do anything to stop the gory spectacle. India are one wicket away 161/9
    73.3 another appeal for caught behind and the wicketkeeper is confident enough to signal the DRS himself. Back of a length delivery that Ngidi thrusts his hands at.... and there's a noise as the ball passes the bat... Ultra-Edge confirms it... Shami has five! India win! 177/10
    Extras
    13 (b 7, w 6)
    TOTAL
    177 all out (73.3 Overs, RR: 2.4, 356 minutes)
    Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Aiden Markram, 1.6 ov), 2-124 (Hashim Amla, 52.4 ov), 3-131 (AB de Villiers, 55.6 ov), 4-144 (Faf du Plessis, 60.6 ov), 5-145 (Quinton de Kock, 63.1 ov), 6-157 (Vernon Philander, 67.3 ov), 7-157 (Andile Phehlukwayo, 67.6 ov), 8-160 (Kagiso Rabada, 68.6 ov), 9-161 (Morne Morkel, 69.5 ov), 10-177 (Lungi Ngidi, 73.3 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEconWDNB
    B Kumar1843912.1600
    Mohammed Shami12.322852.2400
    JJ Bumrah2135722.7110
    I Sharma1633121.9300
    HH Pandya611502.5010

Match Details

Toss

India , elected to bat first

Player Of The Match

Player Of The Series

Series result

South Africa won the 3-match series 2-1

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

10.00 start, Lunch 12.00-12.40, Tea 14.40-15.00, Close 17.00

Match days

24,25,26,27 January 2018 (5-day match)

TV Umpires

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Close of Play

  • Wed, 24 Jan - day 1 - South Africa 1st innings 6/1 (D Elgar 4*, K Rabada 0*, 6 ov)
  • Thu, 25 Jan - day 2 - India 2nd innings 49/1 (M Vijay 13*, KL Rahul 16*, 17 ov)
  • Fri, 26 Jan - day 3 - South Africa 2nd innings 17/1 (D Elgar 11*, HM Amla 2*, 8.3 ov)
  • Sat, 27 Jan - day 4 - South Africa 2nd innings 177 (73.3 ov) - end of match

Match Notes

2nd-innings Shami

12

Wickets for Shami in the 2nd innings of this series, average 8.75. In the 1st innings, 3 wickets at 50.33

Elgar stands alone

3

Instances of SA openers carrying their bats in Tests since their readmission - Kirsten made 100* v Pakistan, 1997, and Elgar made 118* v Eng, 2015

Amla in control

84.2

Amla's in-control percentage in his knock of 52, the best among all batsmen in the Test. KL Rahul had a control % of 84.1 and Vijay 80.3 in India's 2nd innings

Rare century stands

3

Century partnerships in the series, all for SA: de Villiers-Elgar in Centurion, de Villiers-du Plessis in Cape Town and Amla-Elgar in Jo'burg

Fivers at Wanderers

4

No. of five-wicket hauls by India bowlers at the Wanderers in Johannesburg - their most at any venue in South Africa. Kumble, Srinath, Sreesanth and Bumrah are the ones with five-fors there.

Rabada's resistence

2

Kagiso Rabada has played his top-two longest Test innings in this series - 66 balls in first innings in Cape Town and 84 balls in first innings of this Test.

A mini collapse

43

Runs for which India lost their last six wickets, after being 144 for 4. Except Pujara, Kohli and Bhuveshwar none of them could get into double-digits.

A fifty finally

11

No. of consecutive innings without a fifty by Pujara outside Asia, before this match. His last fifty outside Asia was 73 against Australia at Adelaide. This is only his 5th 50+ score in 34 innings.

Pujara's crawl

54

No. of balls taken by Pujara to score his first run in this innings. Since 2001, only one player has taken more balls to open his account: Stuart Broad 61 balls v NZ, Auckland, 2013.

Flop show

12.30

Average of India's openers in this series - the lowest in any series of 3 or more Tests. In 10 innings between Vijay, Dhawan and Rahul they have played just one inns of 20+ runs.

Unbeaten

0

No. of losses for India at the Wanderers, in their previous four Tests. They won one, in 2006-07, and drawn three.