The fear had reared its head before the lunch break. India, having lost 2 wickets for 10 runs, were counting the losses in the New Zealand series last year. Finally, South Africa did just that. They made India blue with their own poison. India fell into the trap of Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj’s spin and were all out for 93 runs. And in that, South Africa won by a ‘huge’ margin of 30 runs, with a total capital of 123 runs.

Captain Shubman Gill had already been ruled out of the match. He is currently in the hospital with a neck injury. India chased down 124 runs without him. But the start was not good. The two openers fell back for 2 runs. Marco Janssen’s extra pace got Yashasvi Jaiswal and Lokesh Rahul out.

The spinners did the next job. Simon Harmer took 4 wickets, Keshav Maharaj took two wickets, and Aiden Markram took one wicket.

The spin festival began with the dismissal of Dhruv Jurel. He was caught on the boundary line while trying to hit a six off Harmer. Rishabh Pant caught him back. Ravindra Jadeja tried, but he too was dismissed after being hit by Harmer.

Washington Sundar, who was out for three, was standing on one side watching his teammates come and go. However, his innings ended in Markram’s defeat.

Seeing the wicket falling, Axar Patel wanted to attack. He hit two sixes and a four off Keshav Maharaj. However, he was caught by Temba Bavuma in that over. The next ball, Mohammad Siraj caught him at slip. And that ensured the victory for South Africa.

Earlier, South Africa had scored a total of 159 runs in the first innings, with Jasprit Bumrah taking 5 wickets. In reply, India could take a lead of 30 runs. When South Africa scored 153 runs in the second innings, India faced a target of 124 runs.

The target seemed small for the hosts at the end of the third innings. But they could not chase it down either, being all out for 93 and losing the match by 30 runs. As a result, India had to taste the bitter taste of defeat in the last four Tests on home soil.