How the Proteas beat India at their own game to bag a famous series victory

Marco Jansen ran back nearly 30m from mid-on to take a one-handed, overhead, diving catch close to the boundary rope to seal South Africa’s first series win in India in 25 years.

This was a man who had bowled 15 overs in the second innings (one ball short of 35 overs in the match) and batted for nearly two and a half hours in the first innings to record his highest Test score of 93.

While the match was practically wrapped up at that point, it took a special moment from an incredible, multiskilled athlete to drive the final nail into the coffin.

The Proteas had many other special moments in the two-match series.

Captain Temba Bavuma scored an unbeaten 55 in the first Test in Kolkata on a surface so abrasive that one would be forgiven for thinking it was covered with Velcro. No other batter scored more than 40 runs in either innings in the match. In that context, it was a massive individual score.

Aiden Markram seemed to have Velcro on his hands in Guwahati, where he plucked nine catches in the second Test match, a record for an outfielder.

Moments like these helped steer the Proteas to a memorable series win.

South Africa have toured India five times since 2000 — in 2004, 2008, 2010, 2015 and 2019 — during which time they won a total of two matches.

The scale of this victory is immense.

Spinning a web

South Africa’s last Test match victory in India, in Nagpur in 2010, saw them stick to the country’s traditional strength: fast bowling.

They removed the surface from the equation and focused on reverse swing. They had one of the best exponents of the art, Dale Steyn, who took 10 wickets.

In the most recent series, South Africa used the conditions to their advantage. Unlike 15 years ago, they had two world-class spinners capable of exploiting the circumstances.

“For the first time we’ve thrown our weight behind spin bowlers,” said head coach Shukri Conrad. “We have quality spinners that can mix it with the best in the world.”

Off-spinner Simon Harmer was particularly impressive throughout the series. His flight, guile, drift, accuracy and, most importantly, sharp turn bamboozled the Indian batters.

He collected nearly half of the wickets on offer in the series, snagging 17 at a scarcely believable average of 8.94.

In the first Test, he out-bowled the Indian spinners — all four of them — in conditions prepared specifically for them to succeed, taking eight wickets. In the second Test, on a fair wicket that saw the match last five days, he claimed nine wickets.

Harmer was a member of the South African side that travelled to India in 2015 and was beaten 3-0 in a four-match series. He played two matches and claimed 10 wickets.

Shortly after that, he signed a Kolpak deal in England, which ruled him out of playing for South Africa.

Earlier this year, in a phone call to Bavuma and Conrad, he confirmed his availability for the national side.

“Never in a million years did I think that I would have another shot at international cricket, never in a million years did I think that I would come to India again,” said Harmer.

“To be here, win 2-0, to be man of the series, it is pretty special and quite surreal.

“I’m very happy with the way things have panned out and very grateful for the opportunities that Temba and Shukri have given me, believing in me and giving me the opportunity to come back and play Test cricket.”

Horses for courses

Outside of having a superior set of spin bowlers, how else did South Africa manage to beat India in their backyard?

One reason, according to Conrad, was winning the toss and having the option to bat first in both matches. The other was their preparation for the tour.

Before flying off to Pakistan at the start of last month, South Africa set up a high-performance centre in Tshwane where batters and bowlers could practise in turning conditions.

South Africa also sent their Test players home to rest after the Test series in Pakistan, instead of playing them in the six white-ball matches that followed.

If you’ve listened to a Conrad press conference, chances are high that you’ve heard him use the phrase “horses for courses”.

David Bedingham has been a regular in the South African Test batting lineup since Conrad became coach. But Conrad did not believe the player had the batting technique to play quality spin bowling. Instead, he recruited Tony de Zorzi, who was on the periphery of the team as a top-order player, into the middle-order role.

De Zorzi was South Africa’s highest run-scorer in Pakistan and fifth-highest in India.

South Africa scaled one of the toughest challenges in cricket by adapting to its challenges. DM