India win Centurion Test: Here are the key takeaways
India beat South Africa by 113 runs in the first Test at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. Chasing 305, the Proteas were bowled out for 191. India have claimed their fourth-ever Test win in SA. Virat Kohli has become the first Indian captain to win more than one Test in the nation. He is also the first Asian skipper to win two Boxing Day Tests.
In the series opener, Mohammed Shami became the fifth pacer from India to complete 200 Test wickets after Kapil Dev, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, and Javagal Srinath. Besides this record, Shami grabbed eyeballs for his endearing seam movement. The 31-year-old kept on hitting the same length, while his upright release did the rest. His fiery deliveries were reminiscent of Sreesanth's in the 2006/07 tour.
KL Rahul has cemented his spot as an opener in India's Test side. After shining at Lord's, he made his mark in Centurion. He now has the highest individual Test score by an Indian opener in SA. Rahul owns at least one Test hundred in each of the six countries he has played (Australia, England, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and West Indies).
Virat Kohli continues to scale mountains as the Indian captain. However, he has been under the scanner for his batting. The Indian skipper scored 35 and 18 in the two innings in Centurion. Just like in 2020, Kohli finished 2021 without an international ton. Since his last century (November 2019), he has scored 2,078 runs from 52 international games at an average of 39.20.
Kohli played 30 international innings this year, the most for him in a year without a ton. He played 24 innings in 2020. Between 2009 and 2019, he scored at least one international century a year. He didn't slam a century in 2008 (five innings).
Although SA were playing in home conditions, their batting order lacked the required spark. Temba Bavuma was the only SA batter who made an impact (52 and 35*). Skipper Dean Elgar showed resilience in the run-chase, having scored 77 off 156 balls. Senior batter Quinton de Kock couldn't capitalize upon his starts in both innings. Aiden Markram was knocked over twice in the match.
India went in with five bowlers for the opening Test - Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and R Ashwin. Although the middle order had the likes of Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Rishabh Pant, it was devoid of an extra specialist batter. Thakur gained a promotion at number seven. India's historic win couldn't hide their fragile middle order.
