It took India just two overs, 10 minutes and a roll of the arm from local boy Shahbaz Nadeem (6-1-18-2) to bowl South Africa out and clinch the series 3-0 with an innings and 202 run-win at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi.
India's victory on Tuesday made it 26 wins out of 32 matches played at home, as Virat Kohli and his men completed their first-ever whitewash against South Africa.
Given the way, India dominated the series it would not be unreasonable to suggest that the only thing that could have delayed the series sweep was the weather.
So when bright sunshine, blue skies and brisk temperatures greeted Ranchi on Tuesday morning, South Africa's fate was sealed.
There hasn't been much help in the wickets for the spinners this series -- save for the second innings in Visakhapatnam and here -- with the total and utter domination of Indian seamers turning out to be a rather welcome change from the time, dishing out a dustbowl guaranteed success in the sub-continent.
India vs South Africa | Day Four | Commentary | Scorecard
The spells from Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav here could easily fit into algorithms: you run a sequence of events and get the desired results: Hit the deck hard. Use the short ball aggressively. Make the batsmen play. Celebrate a wicket.
Zubayr Hamza, South Africa's top-scorer from the first-innings, had earlier admitted that to have almost been bowled out twice in just less than two days was "pretty poor from our side."
This was indeed as poorly as South Africa had batted all series. There was barely any fight shown during the sessions and the whole attitude portrayed by the visitor was of a team low on confidence and waiting for the series to finish.
From 9 for 2 in the first innings overnight, South Africa was bowled out for 162. India enforced the follow-on, before leaving the opponent reeling again, at eight for 132 when bad light had brought an end to an extended final session on Monday.
But much before that, Mohammed Shami had struck Faf du Plessis in front with a length ball, that angled in and kept low. It seemed as plumb as they come but du Plessis reviewed, with a helpless expression but to no avail. A series that began with a defiant 103-ball 55 in Visakhapatnam ended with 10 deliveries of despair.
In many ways, it was a moment that aptly summed up South Africa's tour - flashes of brilliant play that never evolved into complete performances.
Comments
SHARE