India vs South Africa: Fourth Test - Five Talking Points

India moved into second place in the ICC Test rankings after they sealed a 3-0 series win over South Africa on day five of the Delhi Test. Despite struggling to breach the resolute Proteas batsmen for long periods, India's bowlers did enough to complete their biggest Test win in terms of runs.After winning the toss and choosing to bat, India managed 334. In response, the Proteas were bundled out for 121 in the first innings. Already leading by 213, India added a further 267, to set the visitors a challenging 481 to win, with littler over five sessions to play. But despite holding out for more than four sessions, the Proteas were bowled out for 143 in 143.1 overs.Here are the major talking points from the match.

#1 Rahane delivers in Delhi

Rahane was the only centurion in the series

Few doubted Ajinkya Rahane's talent. Fewer still thought that his run of poor scores in India would go on for too much longer. But not many expected him to end it in such sublime fashion.

Becoming only the fifth Indian to score a hundred in each innings of a Test would have made headlines on any day, but the fact that no batsman had scored a hundred in the Test series made that century taste that much sweeter.

Having been the backbone of India's batting in overseas tour, Rahane didn't have too much to prove, even if his run of scores in the series was worrying. But, then again, this was a series dominated by the ball, not the bat. But he once again stepped up, when it mattered most and his twin hundreds set the stage for the bowlers to bowl India to a 3-0 win.

For someone who was supposedly out of form, ending the series as the leading run scorer, only centurion and the highest average (53.2) is not bad at all.

#2 Yadav repays his captain\'s faith

Yadav picked up his 50^th Test wicket in his 17^th Test

After winning his first home series as Test captain, Virat Kohli said "a bowler is as good as you think of him". Referring to Umesh Yadav, Kohli said: "We have bowlers who have the pace. It is important to back them and make them feel as though they can take wickets on any surface.”

Before the game, eyebrows were raised when Yadav was picked ahead of the impressive Amit Mishra, who had troubled South Africa's best batsman, AB de Villiers, throughout the series. With the control he showed on the final day and his ability to reverse swing the ball at pace, Yadav repaid his captain's faith in picking him.

It was not just the fact that Yadav's second innings figures was the most economical by any pace bowler (min 15 overs), but it was the fact that he started the South African collapse after tea, that was impressive.

For someone who was considered as fast, but erratic, this might turn out to be the game that turns his Test career around. If it is, then in Ishant and Umesh, India will finally have a lethal new ball attack.

#3 Where was this fight before?

AB and Amla almost pulled off a draw in the final Test

68, 39.5, 59, 33.1, 89.5, 49.3. That was the number of overs South Africa had batted in each innings of the Test series before the second innings of the Delhi Test. Here, faced with the herculean task of overhauling a world record target, the Proteas battled for 143.1 overs before eventually being bowled out for 143.

The way in which Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis batted, without scoring runs for long periods of time, was a defensive masterclass by three of the Proteas finest batsmen. But the way in which they batted also brought out an altogether different question. Why didn't they show this fight earlier?

Why did it take a world record total to chase and the prospect of a 3-0 humiliation to bring out the grit and determination that everyone knows the Proteas batsmen have. While that is not entirely a fair question, given AB has been ploughing a lone forrow throughout the Test series, one does wonder why Amla and du Plessis didn't show this determination before, when it could have been used to ensure their unbeaten away record stayed intact.

#4 Jadeja proves to be the game changer once again

Jadeja finished with 7 wickets in the match

This match was, in many ways, the perfect example of just why Ravindra Jadeja is so crucial to India's chances at home. He picked up seven wickets in the match and score a useful lower down the order, to help India past 300 in the first innings.

But those numbers don't do justice to just how good Jadeja was in the match. Although he didn't pick up the Man of the Match award, there can be no doubts that it was he, who turned the game in India's favor. On a pitch that was by no means a minefield, Jadeja's five-for helped India bowl the visitors out for 121.

In the second innings, it was he, who picked up the crucial wickets of Amla and du Plessis, just when it looked as though the Proteas might eke out a draw. In many ways, the fact that he was overlooked for both the Man of the Match and Man of the Series awards, show that while he might not always get all the plaudits, he offers control, whether on lively or dead wickets.

#5 Do India really need rank turners to win at home?

Ashwin didn’t need a rank turner to deliver in the final Test

Throughout the Test series, the debate about "home advantage" and the pitches being produced was proving to be more of a talking point than the cricket itself. But if this Delhi Test has taught us anything, it is that India don't really need rank turners or dust bowls to win at home.

The Kotla pitch was in many ways, the traditional Indian pitch. It was one which had something for the batsmen and the bowlers throughout the game. If you had a solid defence, then run-scoring wouldn't be a huge issue. Similarly, whether you were a fast bowler or a spinner, if you bowled in the right areas, there was something to keep you interested.

Although 14 of South Africa's 20 wickets went to India's spin duo, the visitors' best two bowlers were arguably their seamers, Morne Morkel and Kyle Abbott. More than anything else, this was a pitch that provided enough excitement and entertainment and lasted all five days, which is what one ideally wants.