India vs South Africa 1st Test at Centurion, 26 Dec, 2021

Toss: India, who chose to bat
India 327/10 (105.3)  &  174/10 (50.3)
South Africa 197/10 (62.3)  &  191/10 (68)
India won by 113 runs
Man of the Match: Lokesh Rahul

    India won by 113 runs and lead the series with 1-0

     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.

    Dean Elgar (SA): 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 strive under the pressure which is a positive for us.

    Virat Kohli (IND): 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.

    Lokesh 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.