A long wait of 25 years later, South Africa have a reason to smile on Indian shores.
After Hansie Cronje and team pulled off a 2-0 sweep against Sachin Tendulkar’s side in early 2000, the unit led by Temba Bavuma bossed over a clueless Indian team, becoming only the second visiting South African team to win a Test series in India.
No wonder this triumph tasted sweeter for captain Bavuma, who remains unbeaten as skipper in Test cricket. In the 12 Tests he has captained, the Proteas have won 11 and drawn 1.
“I think what makes it sweeter is the fact that we’re on the other side of the result.
“We know how dark it can be. Coming here, I would have never thought 2-0 would be the result at the end of the series. But I think it’s an incredible achievement for the group of players,” Bavuma said on Wednesday, after the Proteas’ massive 408-run win in the second and final Test in Guwahati.
“Again, we’ve gone on to etch ourselves in history and we are creating some memorable moments.”
“The way the guys have stepped up, even though we didn’t have our main bowler Kagiso (Rabada), it was incredible,” Bavuma emphasised, as South Africa have been able to prove themselves as all-conditions champions after their World Test Championship crown earlier in June.
The one who really turned it in the Proteas’ favour, especially after their 159 all out in the first innings of the Eden Test, was off-spinner Simon Harmer. The 36-year-old proved to be incisive in each of his spells and on his first visit to India in 10 years, finished as Player of the Series with 17 wickets in the bag.
“Simon, obviously, he has come in and heavily boosted our resources from a spin point of view. As a team, over the years, we’ve highly relied on Keshav Maharaj. Probably, he wasn’t at his best in the series.
“But I think the way Simon came in, he did what he had to do."
‘Grovel’ remark
Head coach Shukri Conrad’s comment that the Proteas wanted to make India “grovel” created a controversy with some experts expressing disappointment with the use of the term. Bavuma obviously tried to defuse the situation, but also added that Conrad may clarify that going forward.
“Look, Shukri is close to 60 years old. He has got a wealth of experience behind him. He has got a lot of years. And I think he will, at some point, have an opportunity to speak about those comments.
“I think from a team’s perspective, we understand the magnitude of the series. We understand the intensity of the series,” the skipper said.
Hinting at the “bauna (dwarf)” comment from Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant during the Eden Test, Bavuma added: “And I think, as we would have seen in the series,
there have been times where certain guys have crossed the line.
“But those are things that happen within the game. I’m not saying that the coach has crossed the line, but those are things that happen.”