Guwahati (Assam) [India], November 26 : South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said that whitewashing Team India 2-0 at their home is a massive feat for his side after Proteas sealed a record-breaking 408-run victory over India in the second and final Test in Guwahati on Wednesday.
South Africa registered their first Test series win on Indian soil in 25 years. Proteas also handed India their biggest-ever Test defeat, deepening their struggles in the longest format.
Off-spinner Simon Harmer, who won the Player of the Series award, was the architect of India's batting collapse on Day 5. Harmer had a superb figure of 6/37, finishing with nine wickets in the match. India, who were chasing 549 runs, were folded for just 140 despite Ravindra Jadeja's fighting 54.
After the historic Test series, Proteas captain Bavuma said his team came from dark days and this series win is a massive for the side.
"It's massive. For me personally, been out of the game for a couple of months with injury. Not every day you can come to India and walk away with a 2-0 series win. What's special is we had dark days as a group and it's a credit to them. There's a big shift in our mindsets in terms of what we want to do. I think our preparation is something - guys go out there looking to contribute. Anyone on their day can do it for their team - that's the belief. As a team we are really in a good space. The way we performed here will grow our confidence even more. That's a big thing, everyone wants to know where they stand. Guys want to be the man for their team. Everyone has contributed," Bavuma said during the post-match presentation.
"We don't see big 100s but we have got 4-5 guys contributing. I can go on and on about my team but yeah. Simon has the experience of playing here in India in 2015, he complements Keshav quite well. Bit more guile with the ball, it's a struggle to take the ball out of their hands. Simon was the man for us this series," Bavuma added.
Marco Jansen, who won the Player of the Match for his all-round performance in the second Test, opened up about winning Test series in India.
"Yeah, obviously, if you win any Test match, it's a nice feeling. And winning a Test match and a Test series in India is also very special. Very well done to all the guys. Everyone put their hands up in critical situations. And, yeah, just everyone put their hands up when we needed them. And, yeah, proper team performance. We just spoke about doing the simple things very well. And then just assessing the wicket and trying to figure out our plans. And if we needed to change things, we needed to change things," Jansen said during the post-match presentation.
If not, then stick to what works. (on his batting) I just give all the credit to Shukes (Shukri Conrad the coach). Shukes basically just told me to go out and play my game. Just be free, free up a little bit. The first Test, I was a bit tense. And, yeah, so I just went out there and tried to express myself. For me, it just means everyone is working very hard. We're all working hard on our prep. We know what we're doing. We know what we need to go out and perform as a team and in an individual capacity. So, yeah, we're always trying to improve. We always see where we can get better and all those fancy stuff. But, you know, at the end of the day, when we're on the field, we just play for each other and we just give our best," Jansen added.
This is India's fifth loss in their last seven home games at home in Test cricket. India suffered its second home whitewash (0-3 vs NZ last year and 0-2 vs SA now) under Gautam Gambhir's tenure as head coach.
Brief Scores: India: 201 and 140 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Ravindra Jadeja 54, Simon Harmer 6/37) against SA: 489 and 260/5d (Tristan Stubbs 94, Senuran Muthuswamy 109, Ravindra Jadeja 4/62).