Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra Spin India to Series Win vs South Africa in Nagpur
Ravichandran Ashwin took 7 for 66 and Amit Mishra bagged 3/51 as India beat South Africa by 124 runs to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in Nagpur.
© BCCI
Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra spun South Africa's doom in the third Test at Nagpur. Ashwin took 7 for 66 and Mishra bagged 3 for 51 as South Africa lost by 124 runs on Day 3 of a dramatic Test where the difficult nature of the pitch grabbed a lot of spotlight.(Scoreboard | Highlights)
With this win, India clinched the series 2-0. The hosts had won the first Test in Mohali inside three days, the second Test in Bangalore was washed out and India emerged the better side in a spin-dominated contest at sunny Nagpur. The fourth Test will be played in Delhi from December 3.
"The guys have shown character. Winning the Test series after losing the ODIs and T20 was pleasing," said Indian captain Virat Kohli, who added: "Ashwin has been special. He is the world's best right now and was responsible for back-to-back Test series wins for india."
South Africa, needing 301 for an improbable win, were out for 185 in the second innings. Mishra struck two telling blows in the second session to derail South Africa's chase, reducing the visitors to 151-6 at tea on Friday.
South Africa were reeling on 58-4 when skipper Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis joined hands to forge the highest partnership in the low-scoring contest and resist India's push for a victory.
The duo survived numerous leg-before and bat-pad catch appeals before Mishra ended the 72-run fifth wicket stand to boost India's hopes of taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
"We are disappointed. It was a challenging job but we did make an honest effort. The ball spun and bounced and we didn't do enough," said Proteas skipper Amla.
South Africa, the world's top-ranked Test team who have not lost an away series since 2006, are still 159 runs behind their target after resuming the day on 32-2.
Ashwin continued to make the most of the turning track at the VCA Stadium, dismissing Dean Elgar (18) and AB de Villiers (nine) in the morning to peg back South Africa.
Ashwin, the leading wicket-taker in the series, struck in the fourth over of the day when Cheteshwar Pujara took a bat-pad catch at silly mid-on to send back Elgar.
The off-spinner struck a bigger blow when he foxed de Villiers with a carrom ball to trap the batsman plumb in front.
Amla dug in to negate the spin of the turning track, playing with soft hands so edges did not carry to slip, while du Plessis used his feet well against the spinners.
In a Test match that saw 32 wickets tumble on the first two days, the pair showed grit and determination to thwart the Indian bowlers for more than 46 overs before Mishra separated them.
Amla offered an edge off the top half of his bat to perish in gully and in Mishra's next over, du Plessis lost his stump to a ball that kept low. Both the batsmen contributed 39 runs each.
(With inputs from Reuters)