India beat S.Africa in shortest ever Test, draw series despite Markram's herculean effort
- Last updated: January 4, 2024 | 16:35
India beat South Africa by seven wickets in the shortest Test match in cricket history despite a stunning century by Aiden Markram at Newlands on Thursday and level the series.
India crossed the finish line 12 overs after lunch on day two. Chasing 79, it scored 80-3. Only 642 legitimate deliveries were bowled across four-plus sessions.
The previous shortest Test — 656 balls — was in 1932 at Melbourne between Australia and South Africa. South Africa won the first Test in Centurion by an innings and 32 runs.
Chasing a small target on a difficult pitch, Indian opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal went on the attack from the first ball, making 28 off 23 deliveries before being caught on the boundary off Nandre Burger.
Shubman Gill (10) and Virat Kohli (12) fell to Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen before Shreyas Iyer hit the winning boundary with his only scoring stroke.
Captain Rohit Sharma was unbeaten on 16. Markram hit 106 off 103 balls before South Africa were bowled out for 176 shortly before lunch.
Jasprit Bumrah took six for 61 — and was denied the wicket of Markram when the batsman, on 71, edged a drive and wicketkeeper KL Rahul could not hold a catch above his head.
Markram defied a pitch with pace, extravagant seam movement and uneven bounce, on which the highest score of any of his teammates in either innings was 15. He hit 17 fours and two sixes, one of which, off Prasidh Krishna, sailed out of the ground and onto a railway line beyond square leg.
The 29-year-old opening batsman was eventually out caught at mid-off by Sharma off Mohammed Siraj attempting another big shot.
Siraj set up India's win when he took six for 15 as South Africa were bowled out for 55 before lunch on Wednesday. Twenty-three wickets fell on the first day.
India became the first team from Asia to win in Cape Town and at Newlands. Overall, it was India’s fifth win on South African soil.
Agencies