Guwahati (Assam) [India], November 26 : Following South Africa's landmark win over India in a series at their own backyard after 25 years, Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma expressed his ecstacy with the win, saying that coming to Indian shores, he had never thought that they would walk away with a whitewash win.
Team India's woes at home are not stopping as in back-to-back years, they registered series whitewashes against two big teams, New Zealand and current World Test Champions, South Africa. This loss is their fifth successive defeat to a South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia (SENA) nation at home. It puts their chances of winning the WTC mace for the first time under serious jeopardy, as while away conditions come with their challenges, it seems India is not safe at their home anymore.
Speaking during the presser after the match, Bavuma said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. "Coming here, I would never have thought 2-0 would be the result of the series. What makes it sweeter is the fact that we have been on the other side of the result, so we know how dark it can be. It is an incredible achievement for the group of players. Again, we have gone on to paint ourselves in history, and we are creating some memorable moments."
The last time South Africa won a Test series in India, back in 2000, Bavuma was a nine- or ten-year-old boy, and two of his teammates, Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs, who delivered match-winning contributions, were not even born.
While Bavuma admitted that he did not anticipate a series white-wash, they had "left no stone unturned" in their preparation. He also revealed that playing in Pakistan before the tour to India gave them a "proper taste" of subcontinent conditions. Bavuma, who did not feature in that tour due to injury and instead played a four-day game in India for South Africa A, admitted that it was on him to "up his game" heading into the series.
"For me, it was a case of getting up to speed with the guys having been out with injury. But coming back into the team, I felt as if the guys were at a higher level and the onus was more on me to up my game," he said.
Bavuma was not a part of South Africa's previous two subcontinent tours due to injury, having an elbow injury during last year's 2-0 win over Bangladesh, their first in Asia since 2014 and faced a calf issue during the England white-ball series, which kept him out of the Pakistan tour.
The skipper is also happy with the depth of his team, which has resulted in "a lot of leaders" within the setup up such as Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj.
"We have a lot of leaders within the team, and it is understanding where certain guys provide value and allowing them to flourish within that space," he said. "I have got your Keshav Maharaj, I have got Aiden Markram, I have got your KG Rabada, even though he was not there this time (in playing XI due to injury). From a tactical point of view, those are the guys, I can always bounce ideas around. I set that vision clear, but there are other guys who help me make sure that we are all on the same page," he continued.
Bavuma admitted having learnt to "separate the captain and the batter" and ensure he could play and get picked as a batter consistently.
"It is important that you do your primary skill as well as you can," he said. "Guys generally follow what they see, not necessarily what you tell them. I try to ensure that from a batting point of view, I am contributing as much as I can to the team," he added.
Speaking on the team's mindset, the skipper said, "The team now is really in a good space. Winning obviously does that, but it's also the way that we're going about winning our games," Bavuma said.
"From a batting point of view, we do not have the guys who are going in and getting the big hundreds, but we have got four, five or six guys who are willing to contribute. That gets us to a formidable score. We know that from a bowling point of view, we have got enough to make sure that the result is on our side. It is good times at the moment within the team," he concluded.
After a sluggish start on day one with 247/6 on the board, a maiden Test ton from all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy (109) and a hard-hitting knock from Marco Jansen (93 in 91 balls, with six fours and seven sixes) made crucial lower-order contributions to propel the Proteas to 489 in the first innings. Kuldeep Yadav (4/115) was the top bowler for India.
Jansen continued his magic with the ball, snapping figures of 6/48, as the hosts were bundled out for merely 201. A half-century from Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 in 97 balls, with six fours and a six) and Washington Sundar (48 in 92 balls, with two fours and a six) offered notable resistance. India did have a fine start with a 65-run opening stand, but slipped to 122/7, with a 72-run stand between Sundar and Kuldeep (19 in 134 balls, with three fours) pushing India to the 200-run mark.
South Africa chose not to enforce the follow-on, instead extending their advantage to past 500, with Tristan Stubbs (94 in 180 balls, with nine fours and a six) leading the way in their third innings total of 260/5 before the declaration. Once again, it was a spinner shining, with Jadeja taking a four-fer. But India were set a massive 549 runs to chase.
Simon Harmer, South Africa's Player of the Match in Kolkata, was at his very best in the second innings as well. Adding to his 3/64 in the first innings, Harmer (6/37) ran through India's batting line-up on the morning of the final day.
While Sai Sudarshan (14 in 139 balls, with a four) and Ravindra Jadeja (54 in 87 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) mounted resistance, India's fight broke in the second session as South Africa's continued strikes meant that they secured a massive 408-run win in Guwahati, bundling out India for 140 runs.
Another positive display for the visitors came from Aiden Markram, who stood tall in the field with a couple of stunning catches.
Harmer secured the 'Player of the Series' awards with 17 wickets in both Tests, including two four-fers and a six-fer. While Jansen took home the 'Player of the Match' award with an all-round performance, scoring a brilliant 93 and taking seven wickets.