Jasprit Bumrah’s 6-fer headlines India’s 7-wicket win on Day 2 to level the Test series at Cape Town

The Indian cricket team avoided a Test series defeat in style as they registered a 7-wicket win at Cape Town on just the second day of the match, with Rohit Sharma (17*) and Shreyas Iyer (4*) taking the team across the line after being set a target of 79 to win.

Not only was this India’s first Test win in Cape Town but also the shortest completed Test match (642 balls) in the longest format of the game, beating the previous record of 656 balls between Australia and South Africa in Melbourne in 1932.

On a pitch that heavily favoured the seamers, a total of 23 wickets fell on the first day as South Africa were bowled out for 55, before the visitors put up 153. At Stumps on Day 1, South Africa were 62/3 with a deficit of 36 runs left to erase - and it was bound to be an uphill task in order to set a massive target for India to chase.

South Africa began the second day’s play on an opportune note as the second ball from Jasprit Bumrah went flying off David Bedingham’s bat for four. However, the joy was only short-lived as Bedingham nicked a ball to KL Rahul and departed for 11.

Bedingham’s dismissal was the first among five wickets on the day for Bumrah as he used the conditions on offer supremely well, making the ball talk and life difficult for the South African batters. While none of Kyle Verreynne (9), Marco Jansen (11), Keshav Maharaj (9) and Lungi Ngidi (8) could provide much resistance, Aiden Markram produced one of the greatest Test tons on display as he grinded it out against the fiery Indian pace attack to score a 103-ball 106.

However, lack of support for Markram meant South Africa were bowled out for just 176, with Bumrah’s 6/61 the star performance, complemented by Mukesh Kumar (2/56), Mohammed Siraj (1/31) and Prasidh Krishna (1/27).

With a target of 79 to win, the intent to finish off the game early was visible from the first ball as Yashasvi Jaiswal hammered a boundary to start the chase and followed it up with another boundary a couple of balls later.

Jaiswal looked in good touch as he collected four more boundaries before he was removed by Nandre Burger for a 23-ball 28. Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli too collected a few boundaries during their stay at the center but were dismissed for 11 and 12 respectively. 

It took only five deliveries post Kohli’s dismissal though for India to bring about the win as Iyer (4*) lofted a ball from Jansen down to the long on boundary, taking the score to 80/3 and beyond the 79-run target.

Mohammed Siraj was named as the Player of the Match for his 6/15 in the first innings while Dean Elgar and Jasprit Bumrah were named as the joint Player of the Series winners.