With another foreign victory in 2021, Team India continues to dazzle. They won Tests at the Gabba, Lord's, Oval, and Centurion during the year.
India had never been to Centurion before 2021, like Gabba and Oval, but that changed this year.
Jasprit Bumrah, who took five wickets in all, was one of the architects of the victory. The timing of several of the dismissals was the deciding factor.
In the latter minutes of Day 4, Bumrah dispatched Rassie van der Dussen and Keshav Maharaj to give India the upper hand over Proteas.
Bumrah had entered the record books by removing Rassie, becoming the fastest Indian bowler to reach 100 Test wickets in foreign circumstances.
He broke the record set by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, who completed the feat in 25 Tests. In 23 Tests, Bumrah has done it. R Ashwin is second on the list, having reached the record in 26 Tests, followed by Bishan Singh Bedi, Javagal Srinath, and Mohammed Shami, who are joint-fourth on the list, having taken 28 matches to reach the milestone.
Virat Kohli, India's captain, was full of admiration for Bumrah and his teammates.
Kohli remarked after the victory, "We have a lot of faith in our bowling unit to complete the task. In the locker room, we discussed it. Because he didn't bowl much in the first innings, the opposition was able to score more runs. It's just a characteristic of our squad getting a result from that position the way these guys bowl together."
India will go to Johannesburg for the second Test, which will begin on January 2.