Humiliation for Team India! South Africa clean-sweep Test series

The 408-run defeat is India’s biggest in Test cricket and condemns it to a second home series loss in just over 12 months.

The win completed a 2-0 sweep and handed South Africa its first Test series triumph in India in 25 years.

GUWAHATI, Nov 26: A dominant South Africa trounced by India by 408 runs in the second and final Test in Guwahati on Wednesday to complete a thumping 2-0 series sweep.

Chasing a target of 549 runs, India were bowled out for 140 in their second innings on Day 5.

Off-spinner Simon Harmer recorded career-best figures of 6 for 37 runs even as Ravindra Jadeja offered sole resistance with an entertaining 54 off 87 balls. No other Indian batter went past the 20-run mark.

Once skipper Pant (13) was dismissed, unable to counter the bounce, the writing was on the wall. The likes of Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel and Nitish Reddy simply did not have enough preparation to read the turn from Harmer's hand.

Marco Jansen, who played the perfect all-rounder in this Test, took a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Mohammed Siraj off the bowling of Keshav Maharaj to trigger celebrations in the South Africa camp.

This is the reigning World Test champions' first series triumph in India after a long wait of 25 years, and their largest in terms of runs in Tests.

Aiden Markram (9) set a record for most catches in a Test match, overtaking Ajinkya Rahane's eight, in 2015.

The target of 549 was never in equation, but the manner in which India struggled their way to 90 for 5 at tea signaled that Harmer (4/23 in 19 overs) was more at ease on this track than Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja were through the two innings.

In the morning, Harmer breached through Kuldeep Yadav's (5 off 38 balls) defence after a 30-minute vigil and Dhruv Jurel (0) got a pair for the first time in Tests.

This time it was Harmer, who bowled a slider that drifted away while the batter jabbed at it to give catching practice to Aiden Markram, stationed at first slip.

Rishabh Pant lofted Keshav Maharaj into the stands but knew that survival was difficult.

It was Harmer who got one delivery to bounce, and even as Pant defended it awkwardly he was caught as the ball flew off the shoulder of the bat to Markram.

Post tea, South Africa struck early in the fifth ball of the afternoon session as B Sai Sudharsan, who battled through the morning with a defensive approach, pressed forward once more to smother the spin from Senuran Muthusamy, but failed to cover the line and edged to slip, where Markram took his eighth catch of the match.

Jadeja tried delaying the inevitable by thumping and pulling off spinners for boundaries. He got his fifty in style by flicking Keshav Maharaj over deep mid-wicket for six. But South Africa continued to chip away when Washington Sundar poked at a quicker delivery, and the outside edge was taken sharply by Markram at slip, who got a record ninth catch and gave Harmer a well-deserved five-wicket haul.

Harmer claimed his sixth wicket when Nitish Kumar Reddy’s attempted reverse sweep took the glove edge and gave the wicketkeeper a simple catch. South Africa moved to the brink of victory when Jadeja danced down the pitch against Keshav Maharaj, but was beaten in the air, and wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne completed a swift stumping.

Fittingly, Jansen took a one-handed blinder while running backwards to dismiss Mohammed Siraj off Maharaj’s bowling, and spark unreal scenes in the South African camp, as they soaked in the feeling of taking down India on their home soil for just the second time in Tests.

South Africa also set a new record, registering their biggest win, by margin of runs, over India in Tests. Moreover, this is the second Test series win for the Proteas in India and first in 25 year. It was the Hansie Cronje-led side who did it first in 2000. Now Temba Bavuma joined him and kept his unbeaten Test record intact as skipper. Agencies

Scoreboard  

South Africa: 1st innings - 489;

India: 1st innings: 201;

South Africa: 2nd innings - 260/5 (dec);

India: 2nd innings:

Yashasvi Jaiswal     c Verreynne b Jansen             13

KL Rahul                 b Harmer                                6

Sai Sudharsan         c Markram b Muthusamy         14

Kuldeep Yadav       b Harmer                                5

Dhruv Jurel             c Markram b Harmer               2

*Rishabh Pant         c Markram b Harmer               13

Ravindra Jadeja      st Verreynne b Maharaj           54

Washington Sundar c Markram b Harmer               16

Nitish Reddy           c Verreynne b Harmer             0

Jasprit Bumrah        not out                                   1

Mohammed Siraj     c Jansen b Maharaj                 0

Extras: 16;              Total:                     140-10 (63.5)

FOW:Jaiswal (17-1, 6.1), Rahul (21-2, 9.2), Yadav (40-3, 23.3), Jurel (42-4, 24), Pant (58-5, 31.2), Sudharsan (95-6, 47.5), Sundar (130-7, 60.4), Reddy (138-8, 62.1), Jadeja (140-9, 63.1), Siraj (140-10, 63.5)

Bowling

Marco Jansen         15            7             23            1

Wiaan Mulder          4             1             6             0

Simon Harmer         23            6             37            6

Keshav Maharaj       12.5         1             37            2

Aiden Markram        2             0             2             0

Senuran Muthusamy               7             1             21            1

MOS: Simon Harmer;                           MOM: Marco Jansen

Also Read: To beat a very good Indian team is a hell of an effort, says Harmer