New Delhi: Indian bowlers led by Ravichandran Ashwin showed outstanding perseverance to end South Africa's dogged resistance and register a comprehensive 337 run victory in the final cricket Test, winning the four-match series by a historic 3-0 margin.
Needing a mammoth 481 to win, South Africa depended on their ultra-defensive strategy before being bowled out for 143 in 143.1 overs, the last five wickets falling for a mere seven runs in a dramatic collapse.
The 3-0 series win also enabled India to climb upto No 2 in the ICC Test rankings.Fittingly Ashwin (5/61 in 49.1 overs) got the final wicket with an angular delivery that Morne Morkel left and was bowled, triggering scenes of celebration in the Indian dressing room and among the players on the ground.
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Skipper Virat Kohli and Man of the Match Ajinkya Rahane picked the souvenir stumps as players engaged in hearty celebrations and also thanked the spectators who gave them a standing ovation.
The Proteas, courtesy AB de Villiers' 43 off 297 balls,looked like pulling off an improbable draw from the jaws of defeat before the Indian bowling came to life in the final session courtesy pacer Umesh Yadav's fiery spell and Ravichandran Ashwin ending the stodgy De Villiers' near six-hour battle.
Ashwin produced a magical delivery - a sharp bouncing off-break that de Villiers played awkwardly and the resultant catch was taken by Jadeja at leg-slip.
The emphatic Test series victory more than made up for the losses in the ODIs and Twenty20s played earlier.
Credit should also be given to Umesh Yadav (3/9 in 21overs) for starting the slide in the final session by rattling Dane Vilas and Kyle Abbott's stumps. Dane Piedt was gone when Wriddhiman Saha took a stunner.
The visions of victory were raised in the post-lunch session, Faf Du Plessis' (10, 97 balls) resistance ended when Ravindra Jadeja bowled an armer which the right-hander intended to play for the turn. It hit plumb in-front much to the delight of Jadeja.
In the post lunch session, Faf Du Plessis' (10 from 97 balls) resistance ended when Ravindra Jadeja bowled an armer which the right-hander intended to play for the turn. It hit plumb in-front much to the delight of Jadeja and his team-mates.
India's most successful bowler in the series Ravichandran Ashwin got his 30th victim when JP Duminy (0) was caught dead plumb on the backfoot after having played a dozen of deliveries.
The Proteas, who continued with their 'Blockathon', added only 21 runs in the first session of the final day consuming another 35 overs while the post-lunch session produced 42 runs in 31 overs.
With a session left, South Africa are inching towards one of their most creditable draws in Test history.
While the pitch made it easier for the South Africans but no credit should be snatched away from the world's current best batsman de Villiers, who showed that a class player can change and adapt his game according to the situations. It seems de Villiers did have only one thing in mind -- defend dourly and destroy the opposition's confidence.
There were times when the odd boundary was hit and the players carried out the formality of picking the ball from the boundary and throwing it back to the bowler.
Hashim Amla dismissed but defiant SA reach 94/3 at lunch
New Delhi: Ravindra Jadeja ended Hashim Amla's dogged vigil with a beautiful delivery but AB de Villiers frustrated the Indian bowlers no end as South Africa crawled to 94/3 in 107 overs at lunch, raising visions of a draw in the fourth and final cricket Test here today.
The Proteas continued with their 'Blockathon' as they added only 21 runs in the first session of the final day consuming another 35 overs in the process.
Amla faced 244 balls for his 'epic' 25 before Jadeja bowled him with one that drifted in and then straightened to knock the off-stump.
AB de Villiers showed another side of his game as he gave Amla stiff competition in stonewalling, reaching unbeaten 26 off 203 balls with four boundaries to his credit.
If Amla was not enough, in came Faf Du Plessis (2 not out off 61 balls), who surpassed his skipper's South African record of playing 46 dot balls before opening account. Du Plessis played 52 dots before taking a single of the 53rd delivery.
Du Plessis has done this kind of defending earlier in Adelaide (2012) when he batted close to eight hours (7 hours and 46 minutes) to score 110 and denied the Aussies what looked like an inevitable win. And his partner in crime was none other than 'ABD' who had played 220 balls for his 33 in that particular match.
Du Plessis in fact also surpassed Grant Flower (51 balls vs New Zealand in 2000) to become the third slowest player of all time to open his account Amla's strike-rate of 10.44 might have put everyone to sleep but his was a perfect example of how to save a Test match from a miraculously hopeless position.
His innings might set future templates on how to save a match as the art of drawing a Test match has become virtually extinct.
Obviously, the drab Kotla wicket which became literally lifeless on the final morning did help but it is never easy to save a Test match by batting out more than 160 overs.
Such was the mindset of the South African batsmen that Jadeja has now bowled 16 consecutive maiden overs with his figures reading 35-28-10-1. Ashwin has 2/43 from 35 overs.
There was the odd good ball like the one that got Amla but both the Indian spinners' limitations on slightly unhelpful pitch was thoroughly exposed. Ashwin went back to his old habit of trying too many variations without much success. When the pacers bowled, it did not carry to the wicketkeeper.
