South Africa complete comprehensive victory
Once the players woke up to sunny skies in Centurion, it was only a matter of time before South Africa took the final two wickets that stood between them and a 1-0 lead in the series
The Bulletin by George Binoy
20-Dec-2010
South Africa 620 for 4 dec (Kallis 201*, Amla 140, de Villiers 129) beat India 136 (Morkel 5-20, Steyn 3-34) and 459 (Tendulkar 111*, Dhoni 90, Gambhir 80, Steyn 4-105) by an innings and 25 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Once the players woke up to clear skies in Centurion, it was only a matter of time before South Africa took the final two wickets that stood between them and a 1-0 lead in the series. The other question was whether they could inflict an innings defeat on India, something they had never done at home. They did, dismissing the tailenders in less than six overs on the fifth day, while Sachin Tendulkar remained unbeaten on 111.
The length of South Africa's wait was going to be determined by Tendulkar's approach, and once he showed no intention of farming the strike, exposing Sreesanth and Jaidev Unadkat by taking singles, the home team knew Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn wouldn't make them field for too long.
Sreesanth prodded forward to a short of a length delivery outside off from Morkel, and AB de Villiers caught the thick edge comfortably at second slip. Unadkat faced 10 out of the 14 balls following Sreesanth's dismissal and the Test ended when he fended a short ball from Steyn to gully.
George Binoy is an assistant editor at Cricinfo