FIVE THINGS INDIA DID RIGHT

A look at the five key points that helped India score their first win over South Africa and end a jinx at Kingsmead, Durban

READING THE DURBAN PITCH

A day before the match, Virat Kohli had pointed out that the Kingsmead wicket will aid spin and explained how much he would trust his new spin duo that has replaced R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. His reading proved correct as his two wrist spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, exploited the wicket and ran through the South African middle order. The Proteas batsmen lost the tempo from where they could not completely recover.

PLAYING AJINKYA RAHANE AT NO.4

After experimenting with various batsmen at No. 4 at home in the recent past, the India skipper finally brought in Rahane thanks to his performance in the final Test at Johannesburg. The India middle order batsman put on 189 runs for the third wicket with his skipper, bringing India on the verge of a historic victory, which they eventually achieved.

VIRAT’S INNINGS DEFINING KNOCK

The India skipper is going through a purple patch. The way he paced his innings on Thursday night, slowing down completely at one point and then opening up later on, never allowed the hosts to get a foot in the door. Du Plessis admitted how Virat is the main man and getting him out is the key as he is experienced during chases.

TAMING THE MAIN PROTEAS SPINNER

Before the match, the South Africa skipper had said that legspinner Imran Tahir has been a gamechanger for his side. However, by blunting the leg-spinner and not allowing him to settle down, the Indians have ensured that there is pressure on the Proteas ahead of the next game at Centurion. Should they continue with the wrist spinner or replace him with a pacer is a question that’ll be running through captain Faf du Plessis’s mind now.