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In five chaotic sessions, Rohit Sharma-led India managed to achieve what had not been achieved at Newlands, Cape Town. Rohit became the first Asian captain to lead the side to a Test win in Cape Town. The win came under extraordinary circumstances as the pitch kept the batters guessing. In Dean Elgar’s farewell Test, only Aiden Markram turned out to be the batter who was able to crack the tough code and smash a century from just 99 balls. But it went in vain as India chased down the 79-run target from 12 overs and seven wickets in hand.
India broke the record for winning a Test match in a record number of overs. The shortest-won match in the history of Test cricket took place in February 1932 between South Africa and Australia. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia won by an innings and 72 runs from 109.2 overs. The Cape Town Test ended in 107 overs.
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In the absence of an injured Temba Bavuma, Elgar won the toss and opted to bat first on January 3. Mohammed Siraj ran riot with the new ball and registered a six-wicket haul. He accounted for the wickets of six out of the top seven batters. Mukesh Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah struck twice to wrap up South Africa's innings for 55. This is their lowest Test score since readmission.
After getting bundled out before the lunch break, South African speedsters were up for the task and Yashasvi Jaiswal departed early. Rohit and Shubman Gill attacked and dealt mostly in boundaries. But Nandre Burger got rid of both of them followed by Shreyas Iyer. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul were getting the innings back on track when India suffered a never-seen-before collapse. From 153/4, India were all-out for 153. India lost six wickets in just 11 balls without adding a single run to create history. Kohli missed his half-century as he was dismissed for 46.
After restricting India's first innings lead to 98 runs, Markram and Elgar walked out to bat with intent to score quickly. They shared a 37-run opening partnership. Markram did most of the damage. At the end of Day 1's play, South Africa had lost three wickets with Markram at one end. As many as 23 wickets had fallen on Day 1, the second-most on the opening day of a Test match.
On Day 2, it turned out to be the same story. The extra bounce troubled batters and wickets were lost at quick intervals. Meanwhile, Markram found ways to score. He became the first batter to score a half-century in the Test. Later, he went after Prasidh Krishna and hurried to his seventh Test ton. He reached the three figures from 99 balls. The opener’s magnificent ton in tough conditions helped South Africa post 176 and set a target of 79.
Even though South Africa set a target of 79, Indian batters were aware of the threat the Cape Town pitch posed. Jaiswal started with a boundary first ball and then hit another off Rabada. Jaiswal continued to deal in boundaries before Burger dismissed him in the sixth over. His 23-ball 28 cameo helped India get off to a flier. In the ninth over, Rohit was dropped by David Beddingham off Rabada's bowling. Two balls later, Rabada got rid of Gill who scored 10 runs from 11 balls.
After Gill’s wicket, Rohit and Kohli did not wait and knock the ball around. They were in a hurry to finish the Test and took their chances. Rohit was given another life in the 11th over when Tony de Zorzi dropped a sitter off Rabada’s bowling. With just four runs needed, Kohli fell to Marco Jansen as DRS went South Africa’s way. Iyer finished the game with a boundary as India won the match by seven wickets. Rohit remained unbeaten for 17 off 22 balls as Elgar ended his Test career with a loss.
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