India hold all the aces after Rohit Sharma's twin tons
India took apart South Africa's spinners to finish with 27 sixes in the match, five more than any team has ever hit in a Test
India took apart South Africa's spinners to finish with 27 sixes in the match, five more than any team has ever hit in a Test
Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Hemant Brar (@Cricquest)
That's all from our side for this game. See you soon.
Elsewhere, the recently-concluded NBA India Games in Mumbai left an undeniable buzz and energy all across the country. So, is India prepared for a league of its own? We think so.
Rohit Sharma, the Man of the Match: Thanks to everyone for giving me that opportunity but the focus was on winning the match. The communication to me happened a couple of years ago that I might open at some stage. So even when I wasn't playing Tests, I was batting against the new balls in the nets. No matter what ball you play, red or white, if you are starting the innings, you need to be careful. When the ball is doing a little bit, you have to access the situation. That's what my game is all about, a bit of caution and a bit of aggression. The whole focus was to go out there and have fun.
Virat Kohli: I think the wicket played really good for the first three days. We lost one session so it was going to be a bit tougher. But once you have 500 on the board, it's difficult for the opposition. Mayank and Rohit played brilliantly. Pujara too in the second innings. It was a hard grind though because of the weather and the pitch slowing down. It's all about the attitude. If fast bowlers step out thinking, spinners are going to do the job, then it's not going to happen. But fast bowlers have been brilliant in India as well. They might prefer shorter spells but it's all about wanting to do for the team. Jaddu and Ash again really really good. Ash in the first innings especially, given the conditions. Jadeja in the second making those quick wickets. But Shami has been a wicket-taker for us in the second innings for quite some time now. This lot of SG balls is much better than the last lot. The hard ball obviously makes it difficult for the batsmen. We would like to see the ball remaining hard till about 60 overs. This was better from the last lot but we would like to stay it hard for 60 overs.
Faf du Plessis: India batted really well in the first innings. We fought well but the second innings was tough. Rohit played really well. I thought up until this morning we competed really well. You can always sit after a game like this what you can do but apart from Shami this morning, the seamers' job was of holding. On a day five pitch, things happen quicker, but it's the nature of Test cricket.
Time for the post-match presentation.
India now have 160 points on the World Test Championship table with three wins in three games, strengthening their pole position.
Mohammed Shami: It's difficult to bowl on such a wicket because it was getting slower. So the plan was to bowl at the stumps. Jaddu and Ash bowled well. We knew variable bounce and reverse swing would help us in the second innings. So we tried to attack the stumps. It was important to get the top batters out as early as possible.
1.48pm So a 203-run victory for India. Could have been even more if not for the ninth-wicket stand between Piedt and Muthusamy. Apart from Shami, Jadeja too picked up four, three of them in the same over. India looked like a well-oiled machine. Rohit shone with twin tons while opening the innings for the first time in a Test. Agarwal got his maiden Test ton, in fact a double, as well. Ashwin and Jadeja contributed with the ball as they always have at home. On the other hand, a lot of questions for South Africa.
K Rabada c †Saha b Mohammed Shami 18 (19b 3x4 1x6) SR: 94.73
Around the wicket
Two slips, two short midwickets
Rather than bowling full and attacking the stumps, he gets batsmen bowled when they're rooted to the crease
For a team that has lost a Test by a margin of more than 200 runs, South Africa were unusually pleased with their performance in Visakhapatnam
Also, Ashwin joins Muralitharan as the fastest to 350 Test wickets, and a new record for most sixes in a match
Piedt and Muthusamy's rearguard effort not enough to repair damage caused by top-order slide
The India captain praised his pace bowlers for their attitude on unhelpful home pitches