NEW DELHI: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said his team had “come through dark days” as the Proteas sealed a historic 408-run victory over India in Guwahati on Wednesday, completing a 2-0 sweep and recording their first Test series win on Indian soil in 25 years. The emphatic win also handed India their biggest-ever Test defeat at home in terms of runs, deepening their struggles in the longest format.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Spinner Simon Harmer was the architect of India’s collapse on the final day, returning superb figures of 6/37 to finish with nine wickets in the match. Chasing an improbable 549, India folded for 140 despite a gritty 54 from Ravindra Jadeja, who resisted until Keshav Maharaj had him stumped. Mohammed Siraj was the last to fall, with Marco Jansen pulling off a flying catch in the deep.
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For Bavuma, the victory marked both personal and collective redemption.“It’s massive,” the South Africa captain said after the match. “For me personally, I’ve been out of the game for a couple of months with injury. Not every day you can come to India and walk away with a 2-0 series win. We’ve had dark days as a group and this is a credit to the guys.”Bavuma said a renewed clarity in preparation and mindset drove the turnaround.
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“There’s been a big shift in what we want to do. Anyone on their day can win the game for the team—that’s the belief now. Everyone wants to be the man for their team. We didn’t score big hundreds, but 4-5 guys kept contributing. As a team we’re in a really good space.”He singled out Harmer’s influence as decisive: “Simon has experience playing here in 2015; he complements Keshav so well. Bit more guile, bit more flight. It’s hard to take the ball out of their hands. Simon was the man for us this series.”India’s defeat capped a worrying trend — five losses in their last seven home Tests. After going down inside three days in Kolkata, the hosts were once again outplayed on a pitch that offered far more assistance to South Africa’s spinners.Earlier in the match, Senuran Muthusamy’s maiden Test century (109) and Jansen’s all-round brilliance — 93 with the bat and 6/48 in the first innings — powered South Africa to a dominant position from which they never loosened their grip.
