South Africa Breach Fortress Wanderers, Series Level 1-1

South Africa beat India by 7 wickets to win the 2nd test.

Cricket Image for South Africa Breach Fortress Wanderers, Series Level 1-1 (Image Source: Twitter)

Dean Elgar is one tough batter and he showed when he guided South Africa to breach India's Fortress Wanderers through his unbeaten 96 on day 4 of the 2nd test. 

The Judgement day began five and half hours late due to consistent rains, keeping the conditions overcast which was suitable for the bowlers. But South Africa had already played out 40 overs on day 3 and took the shine off the ball. 

When the weather finally settled on day 4, India had to bowl a 40-over-old ball on a freshly rolled pitch that was kept in covers overnight. The pitch did have some inconsistent bounce in a few patches but nothing that made Elgar and Rassie Van der Dussen - two overnight batters - in any sort of trouble. 

Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Shardul Thakur although drew some plays and misses but also drifted towards the leg a lot to giveaway any pressure that had been put. Even when Shami finally drew the edge of Van der Dussen to finally give India the third wicket, the score was good enough for new batter Temba Bavuma to settle in and chase. 

Elgar and Bavuma safely guided South Africa to the 240-run target to breach India's fortress. This also became their highest successful run-chase by South Africa since 2008. 

A Historic Win For The Proteas!
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.#Cricket #SAvIND #IndianCricket #TeamIndia #SouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/UG7EfuqJeO

— CRICKETNMORE (@cricketnmore) January 6, 2022

It's not like India was never in the game. The visitors had won the toss and opted to bat first, but they got bowled for 202 on the first day itself, courtesy of Marco Jansen's four-wicket haul. 

In reply, South Africa managed to get a key lead of 26 runs in the second innings after Shardul Thakur recorded a historic 7-wicket-haul. Keegan Petersen and Temba Bavuma scored crucial fifties in that innings. 

The second Indian innings saw underfire Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane making a century stand to push India's lead ahead of 200 along with some key contributions from Hanuma Vihari(40*). 

For South Africa, Marco Jansen picked up seven wickets and Kagiso Rabada took six wickets in the match. 

With this win, South Africa have leveled the three-match series 1-1, setting up a nice finish to the test series at Cape Town. 

Brief Scorecard: 

India - 202/10 & 266/10
South Africa - 229/19 & 243/3