India suffered a home Test series defeat for the second time in as many years with a crushing defeat at the hands of South Africa in Guwahati on Wednesday. Temba Bavuma’s World Test champion side defeated India by 408 runs to register their first series win in India in 25 years. After setting India a mammoth target of 549 runs on the fourth day, South Africa bowled them out for 140 in the final innings, and needed just over a session on the fifth day to seal a spectacular win.
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The margin of defeat is 408 runs, which is India’s biggest defeat so far in terms of runs. This was only the third time that a team had whitewashed India in a Test series and the first time in 40 years that India had lost a home series in two consecutive years. Off-spinner Simon Harmer took six wickets in the innings and emerged as the leading wicket-taker for South Africa on this memorable tour. This senior player took 17 wickets at an average of 8, after taking 10 wickets in Kolkata, he also took seven wickets in Guwahati.
India faced an impossible target of 549 runs and their entire team was out for 140 runs on the fifth and final day of the match. South Africa had scored 489 runs in its first innings, in response to which the Indian team was out for 201 runs. South Africa declared its second innings over after scoring 260 runs for five wickets. Only Ravindra Jadeja could put up some struggle from India’s side. He scored 54 runs in 87 balls. Harmer gave the best performance of his career, taking six wickets for 37 runs and a total of nine wickets in the match. Aiden Markram made the record for most catches in a Test match by taking nine catches. He left behind India’s Ajinkya Rahane’s record of eight catches taken in 2015. South Africa won the first test match played in Kolkata by 30 runs.
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India certainly missed captain Shubhman Gill, who was ruled out of the second Test due to a neck injury, but not so much a number of senior players, including stand-in captain Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. The pressure will increase on Gautam Gambhir, who has now become the first Indian coach to clean sweep two home Test series. Last year, New Zealand team defeated India 3-0. Gambhir had managed to restore some respectability earlier this year by playing out a 2-2 draw in England, but a defeat to South Africa could spell trouble for his tenure as Test coach.