Lungi Ngidi finished with figures of 6-39 off 12.2 overs
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Lungi Ngidi will cherish his debut forever as he took a six-wicket haul to not only lead South Africa to a 135-run win on the final day in Centurion, but also hand his side an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
With his six wickets, Ngidi became the 24th South African bowler to take five wickets or more on debut in the longest format.
Starting off the day on 35/3, India added 14 runs to their overnight score before Cheteshwar Pujara was run out for 19.
Since he was also run out in the first innings, Pujara became the first Indian player to be run out twice in the same Test match.
Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel only made 19 before he was brilliantly caught by Morne Morkel at fine leg off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada.
Ngidi pushed the Proteas ever closer to victory by removing Hardik Pandya and Ravichandran Ashwin in quick succession.
Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami stemmed the flow of wickets with a 54-run partnership before Rohit was the victim of a sensation catch by AB de Villiers at fine leg off the bowling of Rabada for 47.
The very next over, Ngidi completed his five-wicket haul as Shami was caught by Morkel at mid-on for a 24-ball 28.
In fitting fashion, Ngidi wrapped things up for the Proteas when Jasprit Bumrah was caught by Vernon Philander for two runs.
Ngidi was easily the pick of the bowlers with six wickets, while Rabada claimed three.
India captain Virat Kohli was gutted to have lost again, and said: “We thought the wicket was really flat. It was surprising. We though we have our best chance to put runs on the board, especially after the way SA ended the first innings, we had the momentum.
“We should have got the lead. It’s the batsmen who have let the team down again. The thinking was very simple, I wanna leave everything on the field. The 150 means nothing now that we’ve lost the series. Having not won the game, personal milestones do not matter at all. You go out there and you give your best shot.
“We tried our best and we just weren’t good enough. They were better than us, especially with the fielding.”
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis was thrilled to have won the series, and said: “It took a lot of work. I thought we were on top most of the time. Especially in the field, we did well. Our main focus after day one was to show character. We were very disappointed after the last 45 minutes on day one. Our chat was that we needed to show more character.
“We were a little bit short in the first innings. We needed to get 400 after the position we were in. But for me the vital part was in the second innings when we kept pushing what they needed to get. We knew anything above 250 would be tough and that’s why our batsmen grinded.
“We’re looking forward to Ngidi and KG leading this attack in a few years. [Better catch] Morne definitely! He’s going to tell us about that catch over the next few days.”
Ngidi was named Man of the Match, and said: “At the moment it hasn’t sunk in, I’m chuffed and very happy. It’s been a quick turnaround for me. There’s been some good form in franchise cricket. When I got the call out I felt I was in good form.
“Luckily enough, it [the debut] was on my home ground. The support was great. [Stuck] to the basics you know. The odd one that nipped back was getting the wickets. Definitely wasn’t the fastest SuperSport pitch but we had to make do with what we were given. We pretty much put them under pressure.”