Published: Jan 17, 2016, 11:14 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 17, 2016, 11:14 AM (IST)
India benefitted unsuspectingly from South Africa’s loss to England in the third Test at Johannesburg as they now sit at the apex of the ICC Test rankings. South Africa who lost the Test series by 3-0 against India a month back, have now lost another series against England at home. The latter after thrashing the hosts in the third Test at Johannesburg now have an indisputable lead of 2-0 in the four-match Test series.
South Africa looked hapless in the second innings of the third Test as Stuart Broad run them rampant. He chipped in with six South African scalps including the key wickets of AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla. The hosts were bowled out for a mere score of 83 as the visitors had a target of just 74 runs to chase. England won the encounter by seven wickets and with this the series. This win helped them gain the fifth position in the Test rankings table and helped India climb to the top of the points table.
India have fared well under the new skipper Virat Kohli. They first won the Test series by 2-1 in Sri Lanka which was also their first Test series win in their own den since 1993 followed by phenomenal performance against South Africa at home.
South African cricket is going through a rough patch at the moment as they haven’t looked a champion side in the last two Test series they have played. They somehow need to find a way out of this bad form and will require huge motivation to overcome this mental barrier.
