Even though their batting misfired throughout the series, the final innings showed us glimpses of why the trio of Amla, de Villiers and du Plessis is considered to be one of the most formidable in the longest format of the game. Yes, Amla and du Plessis had a very poor series by their standards, but they will keep on fighting, something that we saw in this final innings. Their next challenge is not too far away from now, where they will face the Englishmen on Boxing day.
Despite AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla's marathon vigil at the crease, South Africa hurtled towards a defeat and lost the series 3-0. At the other end of the spectrum, the spin twins, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin bowled superbly in tandem. When required, Umesh Yadav bowled an inspired spell. We have listed a few stats from the final Test.
Ashwin has five Man of the Series awards for India in 32 Tests now. He equals Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar for most Man of the Series by an Indian in the longest format of the game.
Back in 1955, New Zealand had amassed a mere 69 for 6 in 90 overs against Pakistan in Dhaka. South Africa's 143 runs scored off 143.1 overs is now the longest innings at less than one run per over.
In the last 10 Tests India have played at home, they have won nine and drawn just one.
Faf du Plessis took 53 balls to get off the mark in the second innings. Interestingly, this is the most number of deliveries taken by a South African to open the account in Tests.
India won this game by a huge margin of 337 runs. It turns out to be their biggest victory in terms of runs in Tests. It is also South Africa's biggest defeat in terms of runs since they returned to Test cricket in 1992.
Team review:
India: After a two-year long road rash, India continue to prosper in sub-continent's warmth. Post the historic Sri Lankan conquest, they have bullied the top-ranked side at home and added to Kohli's impressive captaincy numbers. Indian spinners shone, with Ashwin topping the wickets tally in yet another series to highlight his career-best run. Jadeja, previously deemed a rank-turner specialist, built on a stunning First Class form to run Ashwin close with the bat and ball, thus emphasizing Ranji's forgotten role. Mishra's series was limited to only two Tests, but he impressed with his famed leggie-magic to turn things around every time Ashwin and Jadeja looked momentarily conquered. Quickies Aaron and Umesh convinced with discipline and a pace pack led by Ishant Sharma doesn't look too far away. The Gandhi-Mandela series was generally played in good spirits and Ishant's mellowed post-ban approach was the cake's cherry.
The Indian batsmen disappointingly couldn't match up to their predecessors' spin-feats, but things weren't all gloomy in a ball-talking series. Barring a couple of acceptable failures, Vijay only enhanced his reputation looking a notch serener than everyone else. Rahane's home-hoodoo was officially over with the twin Delhi tons and Kohli's average series belatedly turned reasonable at his home ground. Rohit Sharma though kept misfiring despite batting order shuffles to possibly overshoot the "squad retention patience limit" on this occasion. Off-stump struggles continued for Dhawan but the batsman fought without much scoreboard returns and will be on the selectors' mind. Pujara's sole success in Mohali didn't convince much, and with the Iyers and KL Rahuls pushing, a new-look batting order can't be ruled out under the proactive Shastri-Kohli reign. To sum up, India won despite glaring batting flaws that South Africa were too inept to pounce on. The more skilled team won, but a spicier contest would have done no harm.
South Africa: 3-0 summarizes a tough tour as much as it puts England's 2-1 series win in 2012 into perspective. Post-Kallis struggles zoomed to worrying proportions during South Africa humbling defeat that ended a 9-year unbeaten run away from home, a statistic only bettered by the great Windies team. de Villiers, at the peak of his batting prowess, could have certainly fiddled with the final scoreline but for Amla's deserted form, Faf's Ponting-esque struggles on Indian pitches and a juggling batting order. Spin-favouring pitches couldn't malign South Africa's perennial fast bowling class, with Morkel being the standout. Harmer and Piedt just about aced their opportunities and Elgar's loop-and-dip might be little more revered worldwide. The disappointment of the tour was not Steyn's bench-warming sore or Philander's warm-up injury, but the staggering tale of Imran Tahir. Back into the side with renewed expectations, he fluctuated between magic and mediocrity with the frequency of a gamma ray.
Tahir's mirage-deceptive wicket tally will forever belie Amla's lack of confidence in his match-turning capabilities. The opening seemed a worry with Ashwin-bunny Stiaan van Zyl having a horror tour, but Dean Elgar impressed with gritty solidity. Bavuma thrilled at short leg and his Delhi blockathon raised hopes. Overall, South Africa's Test capitulation was totally un
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