Given their previous troubles at the location and their 0-1 series deficit, India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, praised the team’s victory in Cape Town as one of their greatest historical achievements. India made history by being the first Asian side to defeat the Proteas at this iconic ground, having never won a Test match there before. India took advantage of the outstanding performance of their bowlers to win by seven wickets in a match that they had to win to even the series.
With this triumph, India’s nine trips to South Africa have only seen two drawn Test series, the other being in the 2010–11 series. It was also, astonishingly, the shortest Test match ever, with just 642 balls needed in four innings. Rohit Sharma put the significance of this win in perspective by comparing it to the unforgettable victory at the Gabba in January 2021 and expressing his pure joy.
It will rank among our best test match triumphs. Obviously, this puts it right up there with all of our successes, as we haven’t won here in Cape Town before. “Every Test match has its own importance and relevance, so it’s very difficult to compare the matches that you play,” Rohit Sharma remarked during the news conference following the game.
There, they have never lost a test match,” Rohit Sharma went on.
“We also won the Test match at the Gabba. I believe Australia’s last defeat in a test match in Brisbane occurred in 1988. We won the Test match there almost twenty-three years later, or thirty-two years later. It started to resemble their stronghold.
“Since we hadn’t prevailed here, you can’t truly rank the Test matches, but this one ought to be at the top. That demonstrates the significance of this location for our performance. To put on a show like that and win the game, I think our team deserves a lot of respect,” he continued.
In Cape Town, bowlers led India to a decisive victory.
Despite having Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah bowl brilliantly in both innings, South Africa was unable to put up a respectable score. Leading India’s pace attack, Bumrah took six vital wickets, including major scorers Aiden Markram and Tristan Stubbs.
Even with the red ball, Mukesh Kumar shone brilliantly, taking four wickets in two innings. India easily won the second inning after chasing a meager 79 runs, leveling the two-match series against the hosts.
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