
On this day in 2019, India won the third Test of the series against South Africa. The entire series turned out to be one-sided in India’s favor as they beat the visiting side 3-0 and extended their record breaking series winning streak at home to 11 series in a row. India won the match in Ranchi by an innings and 202 runs after facing an early collapse.
India batted first in tricky conditions and saw themselves at 39/3. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane joined together and framed a brilliant partnership of 267 runs for the fourth wicket. Rahane played a fine hand with his 115(192). But it was Rohit who played a match-defining knock of 212(255). With some handy contributions from Ravindra Jadeja and Umesh Yadav, India posted 497 runs before declaring their innings.
South African batters could not turn up in both their innings. In their first innings, Proteas managed to post just 162 runs. Zubair Hamza was the highest run-scorer with his 62(79). Temba Bavuma and George Linde managed to score 32(72) and 37(81). For India, there were four good performers with the ball. While Mohammed Shami, Shahbaz Nadeem, and Ravindra Jadeja claimed 2 wickets, Umesh Yadav starred by claiming 3 wickets.
SA was asked to follow-on. Much like the first innings, their batters could not turn up in the second innings either. At one stage, SA was reduced to 36/5. It seemed like they would get dismissed for a worst score. However, some of the tailenders stepped up for SA and ensured they scored at least 133 runs.
For India, Shami starred with the ball by claiming three early wickets. He was assisted well by Umesh and Nadeem who claimed 2 wickets respectively. This spin duo of Jadeja and Ashwin claimed a wicket respectively. India won the Test by a huge margin of an innings and 202 runs. Rohit won the POTM and the POTS awards.
Disclaimer: This exclusive news is based on the author’s insights, analysis, and intuition. While reviewing this information, consider the points discussed and form your own conclusions.