Dean Elgar leads Proteas to stunning 7-wicket win in 2nd India vs South Africa Test

Dean Elgar's unbeaten 96 as historic as South Africa's win.

If India had reversed historical records by winning the first Test in Centurion, South Africa did the same by trouncing the visitors by seven wickets in Johannesburg. Skipper Dean Elgar's monumental 96* off 188 led helped the hosts to their first win against India at the Bullring, leveling the nail-biting three-test series at 1-1.

Rain washed the entire first two sessions of Day 4. When play resumed, South Africa needed 122 runs and India eight wickets with a maximum of four sessions available in the Test. But it didn't take the hosts half of that time to finish things off.

In a debatable but not unexpected call, India opened the bowling with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin. The outfield was still wet, making the start of the game the best time to try out off-spin. Moreover, India needed to save runs early, which Ashwin did brilliantly against Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen yesterday.

Bumrah was sharp, tried to vary his lengths from short to full, and hit the crack at the good-length spot just outside the right-hander's off-stump. Ashwin, on the other hand, was tight and utilized the bounce well. But both tricks were meant with composure and solid defense from the Proteas batters who kept picking singles.

Elgar soon reached his fifty, depending on singles and doubles, keeping everything else out with conviction. He reached his fifty off 124 balls with a beautiful flick against Ashwin, marking the end of the spinner's spell.

Mohammed Shami came in first change soon after Bumrah got one to jump one on van der Dussen and started with a maiden. A couple of quiet overs followed, which was probably the lull before van der Dussen, known for being a "slow-starter", came out of his shell with a flurry of boundaries. The right-hander pounced on even the smallest of errors by the Indians and in no time raced to his 30.

🚨 RESULT | #Proteas WIN BY 7 WICKETS

🇿🇦 Captain Dean Elgar's unbeaten 96 was the mainstay of the #Proteas chase as he showed plenty of fight and grit to get his side over the line and level the #BetwayTestSeries

#SAvIND #FreedomTestSeries #BePartOfIt https://t.co/uez5t7RRqZ

Just like that, KL Rahul and co., who were extolling every delivery became quieter, and their words of encouragement became words of hope. This was, of course, time to bring in Shardul Thakur, the seven-wicket-taking hero of the first innings.

Thakur looked threatening again, hitting the crack with more accuracy than both Bumrah and Shami. His wobble-seam deliveries made it even more confusing for the batters. He was unlucky not to get a wicket, but perhaps it was this pressure that led to van der Dussen edging one of Shami's out-seamers to first slip.

He walked back for 40 (92), missing his half-century, but doing a terrific job for South Africa. And courtesy of a brilliant batting effort, multiple wet-ball changes, some unlucky (for India) play-and-misses from Elgar, Mohammed Siraj's unavailability most of the time, this was the only wicket to fall on the day.

Complete South African domination after the first wicket as India's struggles got bad to worse

2ND TEST. It's all over! South Africa won by 7 wickets bit.ly/SAvIND-2ndTest #SAvIND

Bursting hopes for a collapse, things only went downhill for India. Tamba Bavuma (23 off 45) got dropped on the second ball as Thakur couldn't hold on to a sharp catch in the follow-through.

Bumrah replaced Shami and Siraj came in for Thakur. Bumrah couldn't find the spot and Siraj, still struggling with his hamstring, was outright wayward. He bowled six overs and was smacked all around the park by Elgar. His final went for 18 runs, but that didn't stop him from engaging in a needless verbal duel with Elgar.

Despite a plea from Rahul, who was heard on the stump mic saying, "Bol mat bol mat, ja chup chap" (Don't say anything, go back to your mark quietly). it didn't stop, neither from him nor Thakur. Elgar flawlessly flitted past his 90 and Bavuma kept chipping away with ones and twos, and three strong boundaries.

As India's frustration boiled over, Bavuma and Elgar put up a stand of 64 off just 81 balls. Deservedly and fittingly, the skipper finished things off with a four to mid-wicket off Ashwin's full-toss. He punched his bat in delight, and some calm handshakes and contrasting emotions set up an exhilarating series decider.