CALCUTTA, 3 December 2004 — Off spinner Harbhajan Singh took seven wickets as India crushed South Africa by eight wickets to clinch the two-Test series 1-0 yesterday.
Harbhajan’s 15th five-wicket haul in his 41st Test helped dismiss the tourists for 222, leaving India a victory target of 117 which they reached in the 40th over with Rahul Dravid contributing an unbeaten 47.
The series victory was India’s first on home soil since beating West Indies in 2002. They drew with New Zealand last year and lost 2-1 to Australia last month.
“It was a very important Test for us after the going has been very tough for the last four or five months,” Ganguly told reporters.
Harbhajan struck when South Africa had added just 11 to their overnight 172 for five, deceiving Jacques Kallis (55) in the air and holding a return catch on a turning Eden Gardens pitch.
Shaun Pollock completed 3,000 Test runs when he reached six but was given out next ball by umpire Daryl Harper, caught at bat-pad by Gautam Gambhir off Harbhajan.
Television replays suggested Pollock was unlucky on two counts as he did not appear to nick the ball and the catch may not have been taken cleanly.
Harbhajan struck again in the same over, having Justin Ontong caught for a duck by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik as he attempted to sweep.
Anil Kumble bowled Thami Tsolekile for one to reduce South Africa to 194 for nine before Zander de Bruyn (32 not out) shared a 28-run last-wicket stand with Makhaya Ntini (12).
Ntini became Kumble’s 434th test victim, putting the leg spinner level with Kapil Dev as India’s highest Test wicket-taker.
South Africa removed Virender Sehwag, who scored a century in the first Test and a blazing 88 in the first innings, for 10 when he edged a rising ball from Ntini straight to captain Graeme Smith in the slips.
Gambhir and Dravid struck a flurry of boundaries, however, before left-hander Gambhir was lbw for 26 offering no shot to spinner Jacques Rudolph.
Sachin Tendulkar (32 not out) scored the winning runs, pulling Ontong to the mid-wicket boundary for four.
“You don’t take back too many happy memories when you lose, but the guys showed a lot of grit and determination,” Smith said.
“We lacked a genuine frontline spinner in our team. We might have fared better on this wicket if we had one.”
South Africa were the first team in over 13 years to win a test series on Indian soil on their last tour in 2000.
Pollock became the fifth player to complete the double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets in Tests, joining an elite list of all-rounders including Kapil, Pakistan’s Imran Khan, New Zealander Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham of England.
India in ICC Top Three for First Time
In London, India have broken into the top three in the International Cricket Council’s Test Championship table for the first time since the ranking system was introduced three and a half years ago.
A 1-0 home series win over South Africa, clinched by Harbhajan Singh’s match-winning performance in the second Test yesterday, was enough to lift India above Pakistan and leave Sourav Ganguly’s side snapping at the heels of second-placed England.
India’s current rating of 107 is also the highest it has had since the ICC Test Championship was launched in May 2001. Ganguly’s men could move closer to England if they win their upcoming series in Bangladesh.
