We can take a lot of pride from this performance – Rohit Sharma

History was made at Cape Town as Team India levelled the Test series with three and a half days and seven wickets to spare, ending the tour of South Africa with their heads held high. The day marked an epochal turnaround of events as India went on to deny South Africa a last laugh which drew the curtains on a long tour, seeing off India drawing the T20I series coming back from a 1-0 deficit, winning the ODI series and eventually finishing the Test series on a high after faltering emphatically in the opening Test.

Starting Day 2 at 62/3, South Africa were jolted to a rude awakening as Jasprit Bumrah ran riot through their batting unit. Registering a six-fer to mark India’s supremacy, Bumrah played a major hand in restricting the hosts to 176, eventually seizing a target of 79 to win. The Indian batters crossed the finish line with seven wickets in hand and carved history in the Newlands Stadium.

Talking at the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma opened up on the entire clash and how the battle shaped up over the span of the five sessions played.

Rohit said, “A great feat. In Centurion, we had to learn from the mistakes we made in that Test. We came back pretty well, especially our bowlers. Even though the conditions were tough for batters, you still go to put the ball in the right areas. Had some plans as to what we wanted to do and the boys got rewarded for it.”

Shedding further light on the match, Rohit said, “We applied ourselves, we batted really well to get a 100-run lead, not pleasing to see the last six wickets. We knew that it's going to be a short game, we knew every run matters, to get that first innings lead was very important for us.”

He then shifted his focus to India’s pace battery that did the trick for the visitors on a hellish green top, stating, “Very very special from Siraj, something that you don't get to see quite often, a spell like that. We spoke about keeping things very simple, because the pitch will do the rest for us and that's exactly what happened. Lot of credit to Siraj, Bumrah and Mukesh and Prasidh as well who supported them in whatever way they could.”

Talking about the performance, Rohit said, “Whenever you come to this part of this world, it's always challenging. In the last 4-5 years, we have become a very good travelling team. We've played a lot of good cricket outside India, we take a lot of pride in our performance outside India. We would have liked to win the series. You cannot get everything. South Africa is a great team, they always challenge us, that's probably the reason we have not won a series. They are such a good cricket team. To come and win like this, we can take a lot of pride from this performance.”

He concluded by talking about Dean Elgar, stating, “Such an important player for South Africa, what he's done throughout his career for South Africa, only few have done that. Very gritty. His wicket - we only spoke about how we want to get him out quickly. For someone to have a career like that, we do appreciate it, all of us. I'd like to wish him the best for the future. You don't get to see a player like that every now and then. Brilliant career, best wishes ahead.”