RSA VS IND - 1st Test, India tour of South Africa, 2021-22

Started the year with a win at the Gabba. Ending it with one at Centurion. What a time it is to watch this Indian team stamp their mark all over the world. And what a time it is to watch their bowling attack. Kohli spoke of the confidence they inspire, and how with a total of 300-320 they know they're in pole position. KL Rahul continued his stunning Test revival to get them to that total, and India cranked up the heat from that point. Wanderers awaits in the new year. That's all we have for now. Goodbye!

Stat: Only Pakistan (five) have more away Test wins than India in 2021!

Rahul, Player of the Match: The grit and determination - really wanted to get my team off to a good start. On a challenging pitch the opening partnership is crucial. Really happy with my performance. Don't think I've made too many technical changes. It's about my mindset, how calm and disciplined I am. It's all coming nicely now. Discipline I've shown has been the biggest contribution for me in performing away from home. It's something I'm proud of (his overseas hundreds). Kept us on the park a little lesser (Shami). Fast bowling unit have shown a lot of heart, not just today but the last few years. Happy with the way Shami bowled and the way other guys chipped in as well. Shami gets the ball to do a little bit extra as Virat said. Very very special coming to SA. This win gives us a lot of confidence. Want to keep getting better as individuals and try to win another Test in few days time.

Kohli, India captain: Got off to the perfect start. Have to understand one day was washed out - shows how well we played. It's always a difficult place to play against SA (Centurion). The discipline that the batters showed. Winning the toss, batting first overseas is a tough challenge. Credit to Mayank and KL the way they set it up. We knew we were in pole position with anything over 300-320. Knew the bowlers will do the job. Spoke about it in the change room - the fact he didn't bowl much in the first innings, it allowed SA to get around 40 more runs (Bumrah). Just the way these guys bowl together has been a hallmark of our team getting a result in difficult situations. Absolutely world class talent (Shami). For me he's in the best three seamers in the world at the moment. His strong wrist, his seam position and his ability to hit a length consistently. Got so much confidence out of Johannesburg last time. It's a ground we love playing at.

Elgar, SA captain: Obviously not a nice thing knowing we lost a Test here. Did a few things wrong. Lot of positives coming out that we can use in the next two. Always the nature here. Always going to be tough because the wicket's playing slower (first morning). Indian openers did the fundamentals right. We didn't quite execute the lengths well. After some good chats our bowlers executed the lengths and restricted India to what we thought was a par score. New ball is something you have to get through playing here. Can't emphasise enough on the hard work our bowlers put in to get 20 wickets. Our batters let us down. I'd say the batting was the difference between the two sides. We'll have a little sit-down with myself and the management to strategise. Didn't do a lot of wrong things. Not all doom and gloom for us. We thrive under the pressure which is a positive for us.

SA dismissed under 200 in each innings at home since re-admission
159 & 133 v Aus Jo'burg 2001/02
194 & 177 v Ind Jo'burg 2017/18
197 & 191 v Ind Centurion 2021/22

India's Test wins in South Africa
123 runs Jo'burg 2006/07
87 runs Durban 2010/11
63 runs Jo'burg 2017/18
113 runs Centurion 2021/22

2021 is the second time India have had won four Tests outside Asia in a calendar year (Brisbane, Lord's, Oval, Centurion). The previous instance was in 2018 (Jo'burg, Nottingham, Adelaide, Melbourne).

Aniket Kolekar: "India is making a habit of capturing the fortress of different teams. What a team this is. Wow!" - WI 1975 and 1979, India 1983. 16 Tests on the trot for Waugh and co. And then came Kolkata. It's a pattern across generations.

Utsav Amitendu Agarwal: "India have done the unthinkable this year, twice. First the Gabba and now Centurion. Two fortresses have been breached."

12:53 Local Time, 10:53 GMT, 16:23 IST: Measured celebrations from India, they've grown quite used to these wins overseas of late. South Africa is still unconquered territory though and the visitors have started off as well as they could have, registering their first-ever win at Centurion. It was inevitable today. The only thing in their way was a dodgy weather forecast, but the rain stayed away and India were always going to be good enough to get the job done. It's a joy to watch their fast bowlers go about their work, led by the genius of Jasprit Bumrah. Somewhat inexplicably the pitch didn't offer as much uneven bounce for the Indian bowlers as it had for South Africa's yesterday. But Bumrah, Shami and Siraj were relentless. To South Africa's credit, they didn't really capitulate in the face of a 300-plus target. Elgar was defiant, and he had spells with van der Dussen as well as Bavuma to keep India waiting. But India weren't to be denied. Presentations coming up soon.

Ashwin to Ngidi, out Caught by Pujara!! And there it is! Ashwin wraps up a historic win for India at Centurion. Flighted up on off, Ngidi gets forward to defend and a thick inside edge pops up to backward short leg. Ngidi c Pujara b Ashwin 0(1)

Ashwin to Ngidi, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Lungi Ngidi, right handed bat, comes to the crease

Ashwin to Rabada, out Caught by Shami!! Ashwin has his first of the Test match! The flight was too much to resist for Rabada here. Went reaching out for it outside off looking to drive, playing well in front of the body. There's dip, a little bit of turn, and the edge balloons to backward point. Rabada c Shami b Ashwin 0(4)

Ashwin to Rabada, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Ashwin to Rabada, no run, looks to drive and it goes off a thick edge to backward point

Ashwin to Rabada, no run, length ball around off, sliding in from round the wicket, Rabada defends

Ashwin to Bavuma, 1 run, floated up on leg, flicked to long leg

Ashwin to Bavuma, no run, tossed up on off, defended down the pitch

Shami to Rabada, no run, gets forward and defends

Kagiso Rabada, left handed bat, comes to the crease