NEWS
Follow UsSouth Africa head coach Mark Boucher has lauded his team's performance in the Test series against India, calling it a remarkable comeback after his side was written off after the first day of the series.
The Proteas had lost the first Test at Centurion by 113 runs against the No. 1 ranked side and it looked like India would go on to clinch their first-ever series on South African soil. The hosts were without Anrich Nortje who was out due to an injury and also their star wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock retired after the first Test further adding to their woes.
India scored 272 for 3 on the first day of the Centurion Test, which included a ton from KL Rahul and despite going down in that match, South Africa bounced back to win the series.
"A lot of people had written us off after day one of the Test series. To come back, after losing the first day badly, and win the second Test and this Test - after losing all three tosses - puts these things into perspective about where this team is and where the Indian team is," Boucher said in an online press conference.
"They are probably the best Test team in world cricket. This is something our boys won't take for granted. There are a couple of youngsters who have come through really nicely and they'll take a lot of confidence from this win, and not only the win but getting ourselves into good positions and winning games where it was hard, hard Test cricket," he added.
Boucher was also quick to praise the character shown by skipper Dean Elgar and his deputy Temba Bavuma, who held their own with their batting. "If you've got fighters as leaders and they are prepared to show that with bat or ball, it's going to be the character of the team," Boucher said.
"It wasn't ideal losing the first match. We were a little bit undercooked, and that's through no fault of any of the players [who had a practice match cancelled due to Covid-19].
"We knew we were going to get better as the series got along. It's never nice playing from behind and playing under pressure. But we played the pressure moments pretty well. We are not winning all of them but when we lose a session, we are not losing it badly and that keeps us in the game."
The find of the series for the Proteas has to be Keegan Petersen, who not just won the player of the match for his twin fifties at Newlands, but was also declared player of the series as he slammed 276 runs at 46.
"Keegan has always shown signs of the batting we're seeing right now," Boucher said.
"He just stuck to his guns. He is in a good position having a guy like Dean next to him who really does back him. Batting at No. 3, you've got to be tough, you've got to know your game, you've got to be technically sound. Hopefully, he gets better and better.
"It's a very tough position to bat in, in South Africa, in our conditions. The way he has come through in this series, I am lost for words. In a big series like this, against big players, he was man-of-the-series. It's fully deserved and I am very, very happy for him."
Marco Janesn, playing his first-ever Test series finished with 19 wickets at 16.47, just one behind Kagiso Rabada. Boucher says it was only a matter of time before he was introduced to international cricket.
"We saw what he had in Pakistan [in January and February last year], he was with us in West Indies [in June and July]. It was just a matter of time before he came through," Boucher said of his tall left-arm pacer.
"You can see the skillset that he's got. It's a variation that is hard to find in cricket these days. He didn't start off too well, but after that first day, we look at him now and everyone is looking saying what a find we've got. At 21, he has got a lot of cricket to learn. We've seen great signs with the bat as well. We've found a superstar in him as well, at a very young age."
After the hard-fought Test series, India and South Africa will play a three-match ODI series, starting Wednesday (January 19).
