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After facing a South African batting resistance for four sessions in the fourth Test, Indian bowlers completed the task after Tea on Day Five as India won the fourth and last Test by 337 runs. South African batting stalwarts Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers could not get their side to earn a draw as the Proteas lost their last five wickets in under five overs.
Resuming the final day on 72/2, South Africa lost their captain early as Amla missed to connect with a brilliant delivery by Ravindra Jadeja after the new ball was taken. De Villiers and Faf du Plessis survived until lunch as they reached a scored of 94/3 in 107 overs.
South Africa lost two wickets in the post-lunch session in the form of du Plessis and JP Duminy. However, Dane Vilas stuck around with de Villiers to take South Africa closer to a draw at tea.
Umesh Yadav was the man of the last session of the match as he picked up three of South Africa's last five wickets. The wicket Yadav got of Kyle Abbott went through Abbott's defence and broke the wickets.
Man-of-the-series, Ravichandran Ashwin picked up the other two South African wickets to get his fourth five-wicket haul of the four-match series. Ashwin picked up a career-high 31 wickets in the series.
AB de Villiers played an innings that will be appreciated by cricket lovers all over the world because of his sheer determination in stopping himself from going after the bowlers like he usually enjoys doing.
Ajinkya Rahane's two brilliant centuries earned him the Man-of-the-match award. Rahane, Ashwin and Kohli all dedicated this victory to the Chennai flood victims.
With the 3-0 series win, India move up to second place in the ICC Test rankings, just four points behind South Africa.
Here are some of the reactions to India's victory:
South African captain, Hashim Amla: “We believed we could do it (save the Test). We tried our best. AB did an exceptional job. Nobody wants to block everything. Everyone wants to take runs, but it was the need of the hour.
“We have always maintained that every Test is very, very important and credit to the South African team. Credit to India. They outplayed us in this series and they certainly deserve their victory.”
Indian captain, Virat Kohli: “I was pretty surprised that SA came in and decided to defend from ball one and that helped me give rest to my main bowlers. I think it all began in Australia for us. We showed character even in defeats. That gave us belief as a Test team.
“Rankings do not matter to me. Neither does it for the team right now. We play to win. To beat the no. 1 Test team is the icing on the cake. Everyone is contributing and that's the essence of a good team. We try to block boundaries when we want to restrict runs. They way they batted is nothing against the spirit of the game.
“I would like to dedicate this victory to the victims of the Chennai floods. Our thoughts are with them.”
Ravichandran Ashwin: ”The finish was a fitting finale. We were going for a win as we knew that we would finish No 2. Batsmen have to trust their defence. There is not much bounce on these wickets. Jadeja's support was crucial. His wicket-taking abilities helped immensely. His accuracy was key.”
