NEW DELHI: India overcame gritty resistance from South Africa’s batsmen to win the fourth and final Test by a massive 337 runs here on Monday and seal the series 3-0.

India had to work hard for victory after the world number one side resorted to hours of stubborn defensive batting, scoring at barely a run an over, in the hope of salvaging a draw.

But their plans were dashed by the equally determined Indian bowlers led by off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, whose 5-61 in the second innings saw him finish the series with a total of 31 wickets.

Paceman Umesh Yadav chipped in with three wickets as South Africa were bowled out for 143 soon after tea, after being set a massive target of 481.

India went into the final Test with a 2-0 lead, having already won the first and third matches. The rain-hit second game ended in a draw.

India declared on 267-5 after making 334 in their first outing, thanks to man of the match Ajinkya Rahane who hit centuries in each innings.

South Africa had folded for 121 in their first knock.

The Proteas fought bravely in the first two sessions Monday but their innings unravelled soon after tea, as they lost their last five wickets inside 5.1 overs.

The win helped India climb two places to second in the world Test rankings.

AB de Villiers (43 off 297 balls) and skipper Hashim Amla (25) stonewalled the attack during their marathon innings but some of the other batsmen caved in without making much effort.

The series defeat was South Africa’s first in nine years away from home.

De Villiers, who holds the record for the fastest half-century and century in one-day cricket, anchored one end and showed remarkable resolve on a slow track that offered occasional bounce.

The batsman appeared undeterred despite taking three painful blows on his thumb against Yadav.

De Villiers was finally removed by Ashwin who had him caught at leg slip.

Ravindra Jadeja (2-26) trapped Faf du Plessis (10) leg before wicket in the post-lunch session but not before he had played out 97 balls.

Amla and de Villiers had begun the day with the same dogged resolution that they showed on Sunday.

Their ultra-defensive batting clearly frustrated Kohli, who even brought himself on to bowl one over.

But it was Jadeja who gave his team the key breakthrough with the new ball.

The left-arm spinner made the ball drift into the right-handed Amla. He tried to defend but the ball sneaked past to hit the top of his off-stump.

Amla’s nearly five-hour stay at the wicket yielded just 25 runs off 244 balls, the slowest scoring rate in Tests by a batsman who has played 200 balls or more.

The 27-run stand that Amla shared with de Villiers off 253 balls was the lowest among all Test partnerships involving 200 or more balls.

Scoreboard

INDIA (1st Innings) 334 (A. Rahane 127,

R. Ashwin 56; Abbott 5-40, Piedt 4-117)

SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings) 121

(de Villiers 42; R. Jadeja 5-30)

INDIA (2nd Innings) 267-5 decl (A. Rahane 100 no, V. Kohli 88; Morkel 3-51)

SOUTH AFRICA (2nd Innings, overnight 72-2):

D. Elgar c Rahane b Ashwin 4

T. Bavuma b Ashwin 34

H. Amla b Jadeja 25

AB de Villiers c Jadeja b Ashwin 43

F. du Plessis lbw b Jadeja 10

J.P. Duminy lbw b Ashwin 0

D. Vilas b Yadav 13

K. Abbott b Yadav 0

D. Piedt c Saha b Yadav 1

M. Morkel b Ashwin 2

I. Tahir not out0

EXTRAS (B-8, LB-3) 11

TOTAL (all out, 143.1 overs) 143

FALL OF WKTS: 1-5 (Elgar), 2-49 (Bavuma), 3-76 (Amla), 4-111 (du Plessis), 5-112 (Duminy), 6-136 (Vilas), 7-136 (de Villiers), 8-140 (Abbott), 9-143 (Piedt).

BOWLING: Sharma 20-12-23-0, Ashwin 49.1-26-61-5, Jadeja 46-33-26-2, Yadav 21-16-9-3, Dhawan 3-1-9-0, Vijay 2-0-2-0, Kohli 1-1-0-0, Pujara 1-0-2-0.

UMPIRES: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI) and Bruce Oxenford (AUS)

TV UMPIRE: C.K. Nandan (IND)

MATCH REFEREE: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2015