India Sweeps South Africa Off The Field In Double Quick Time

Kohli ecstatic at team’s terrific show; Rohit is player of the match as well as series

- Shreedutta Chidananda

It took India all of 10 minutes to wrap things up on Tuesday. Fittingly, it was Jharkhand’s Shahbaz Nadeem who polished offthe final two South African wickets, in the second over of the morning. Theunis de Bruyn under-edged a ball that stayed low, and Wriddhiman Saha, back on the field, held a good catch behind the stumps.

Two deliveries later, a powerful drive from Lungi Ngidi thudded into Anrich Nortje’s body at the nonstriker’s end. The ball popped up in the air and an alert Nadeem grabbed the rebound. While India's players celebrated, Nortje was doubled over in pain: it was an image that summed up the Freedom Series.

Huge win

Following on, South Africa was bowled out for 133 on the fourth day of the third Test, giving India victory by an innings and 202 runs at the JSCA Stadium. The 3-0 series sweep strengthened India's position at the top of the ICC World Test Championship table, its points tally now up to 240.

A beaming Virat Kohli felt his side's display in the series, India's first whitewash in Tests over South Africa, had been perfect. "This is on par with the most balanced performances we have had in the past," he said. “We were not bowled out even once. I don't think we allowed the opposition to get into the game at any point.”