Dec 29, 2023
India's series dream ends in three-day defeat by South Africa
TIMESOFINDIA.COMInnings defeat for India
India's dream of winning a Test series in South Africa for the first time was ended inside three days as they crashed to an innings and 32 runs defeat in Centurion.
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India 131 all out
India crashed to 131 all out in their second innings after conceding a 163-run first innings lead.
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Abject surrender
A day which started with the match evenly poised turned into a rout for Rohit Sharma and his team.
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Strong position
Dean Elgar (185) and Marco Jansen (84 not out) transformed a slender 11-run lead for South Africa at the start of play into a strong position.
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Match-winning stand
Dean Elgar and Marco Jansen shared a 111-run sixth-wicket partnership as South Africa took an overnight 256/5 to 408 all out.
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Rohit Sharma
Kagiso Rabada set the tone for South Africa, bowling Rohit Sharma for a duck with a superb delivery which deviated off the pitch to hit the off stump.
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Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill (26) was the only other Indian batsman to reach double figures and no other batsman scored more than six.
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Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli hit an aggressive 76 before he was last man out but the rest of the batting collapsed against South Africa's fast bowlers on a lively pitch.
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India 2nd innings
Virat Kohli hit 12 fours and a six in an 82-ball knock in the Indian second innings that lasted just 34.1 overs.
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Marco Jansen
Rabada took 2/32 and finished the match with an outstanding diving catch at long-on to dismiss Kohli off Jansen, who took 3/36.
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Nandre Burger
Left-arm fast bowler Nandre Burger completed an impressive debut Test by taking 4/33, giving him match figures of 7/83.
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Dean Elgar
Dean Elgar, who will retire from international cricket after the second Test, was named man of the match in his final Test on his home ground.
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Can India bounce back?
With the series consisting of only two matches India can at best earn a share of the honours if they win the second Test starting in Cape Town on Wednesday.
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