South Africa embarrassed India by defeating them by a whopping margin of 408 runs in the second and final Test of the two-match series being played between the two teams at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Earlier, they had defeated India in the first Test played in Calcutta. South Africa whitewashed their opponents and took home the series 2-0.
Batting first in Guwahati, South Africa ground the Indian bowling to dust and were only bowled out in the 152nd over, after amassing a huge total of 489. Interestingly, their top scorers were Senuran Muthusamy (109) and Marco Jansen (93). Both of them are known primarily for their bowling skills rather than batting. Only Kuldeep Yadav derived some turn from the surface for India and returned with 4-115.
India’s response could not have been more in contrast to the show put up by the Proteas. The Men in Blue could only manage to score 201 before being bowled out inside 84 overs. None of their batters managed to score big. Only Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and Washington Sundar (48) could lend their total some respectability. All-rounder Jansen returned to torment India with the ball this time and destroyed their batting order with figures of 6-48.
South Africa took up the challenge in their second innings yet again, with youngster Tristian Stubbs leading the way with 94 and helping his team put up a total of 260-5. With a huge lead of 548 runs in the bag, captain Temba Bavuma declared his side’s innings closed. India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who bowls left-arm orthodox spin, picked up four of the five South African wickets to fall.
India set a huge target of 549 to chase in the fourth innings of the match. Yet, they couldn’t rise to the occasion and failed to make an impact at all. They were bowled out for just 140 runs on the board, with Jadeja starring with 54 runs. None of the other Indian batters were able to cross the thirty-run mark, with Calcutta hero Simon Harmer returning with match-winning figures of 6-37. South Africa won the match by 408 runs.
