South Africa is the only territory in the world where India have never won a Test series -- in their previous seven attempts. But after their thumping win by 113 runs in the first Test at Centurion on Thursday, there is every indication that the jinx will at last be broken this time.
Virat Kohli once again proved that he is a great leader, even though he is experiencing an extremely lean patch with the bat; even though he has been at loggerheads with the BCCI of late and now appears to enjoy very little support. To his credit, he has managed not to let these issues affect his spirit in any way.
Mohammed Shami's bowling in the first innings has to be the performance that well and truly tilted the match in India' favour. Yes, KL Rahul did score a fantastic century in the first innings but the collapse that saw India lose their last seven wickets for just 55 runs had once threatened to undo all his good work with the bat. So Shami's 5/44 was decisive: a first-innings 130-run lead meant India had tightened their grip on the game.
Rahul though was chosen Player of the Match for his 123 on a pitch that was partial to fast bowlers from start to finish. The 29-year-old at last appears to have come of age in the longest format of the game. This was his sixth ton in overseas conditions. Not long ago, he appeared not to be part of the selectors' plans for Test matches but his performance in England earlier this year after 'fortuitous' injuries to Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal and in the Centurion Test suggests he has learnt his lessons and is now ready to take more responsibility as a batsman.
By no means, it was a perfect game for India. There is still a lot of scope for improvement in the batting department. That collapse could have been avoided with discipline. In the second innings too, they struggled all the way to 174. There were too many casual strokes, and the batsmen can't expect the bowlers to bail them out every single time.
Finally, Kohli won his 40th Test as India captain and he is definitely the country's greatest captain to date in Test cricket. MS Dhoni is a distant second with 27 wins to his name. However, the sword of Damocles is still hanging over Kohli on account of his poor form with the bat. He has not scored an international ton since November 2019 and his recent altercation with the Indian cricket governing body has made his position more tenuous.
He should know more than anyone else that scoring big runs is now paramount for him. Time is ticking rather fast for him and he can't take more time than he already has to get back among big runs.
Anyway, going back to the opening point of this article, India now look firm favourites to conquer South Africa for the first time in their history. The kind of aggression India have shown, and the kind of timidness South Africa have shown at Centurion… Indian fans can realistically get their hopes up about winning their first Test series in the rainbow nation.