The Indian cricket team on Thursday capped off the tour to South Africa with a seven-wicket win in the second Test match and sqaured the series 1-1. It was a match that belonged to Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, who picked 15 wickets among themselves. In the first innings, Siraj picked 6 for 15 while Bumrah scalped two wickets. In the following innings of South Africa, Bumrah returned figures of 6 for 61 while Siraj also picked one wicket.
The victory improved India’s position in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table while it saw the Proteas slip from the top spot. The Rohit Sharma-led side is now at the helm with 54.16 percentage points while the Proteas slipped to the second spot with 50 percentage points. This saw Pakistan losing the fifth spot and slip to the sixth position with 45.83 percentage points.
Watch the updated WTC table here:
India beat South Africa by seven wickets to share the honours in the two-match series as the second Test ended inside five sessions in Cape Town on Thursday.
Visiting India thus completed a remarkable comeback after losing the first Test in Centurion by an innings and 32 runs.
Fast bowler Bumrah finished with excellent figures as India bowled South Africa out for 176 to set themselves a target of 79, after Aiden Markram had struck a magnificent, counterattacking 106 off 103 balls before Lunch.
The hosts completed the chase in the second session with skipper Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer remaining not out on 17 and 4 respectively.
This is the shortest Test match ever in terms of overs bowled, bettering the previous best that involved Australia and South Africa at the MCG way back in 1932.
A total of 106.2 overs were bowled in the match.
Earlier, India’s pace spearhead Bumrah bowled beautifully after the opening day’s play saw a staggering 23 wickets fall on a very quick Newlands surface with inconsistent bounce.
India had collapsed to 153 all out in their first innings in the final session of day one after skittling out South Africa for 55.
South Africa were 62 for three overnight, trailing by 36 runs.
Indian cricket team’s next Test assignment would be a five-match series against England, starting January 25.
(With PTI Inputs)
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