New Delhi, Nov 16 Members of the cricket fraternity have reacted to South Africa’s remarkable 30-run win over India at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens as the visitors secured a 1-0 lead in the two-game series on Sunday, calling it a "sensational and crazy victory" for the Proteas.
The two sides reached a result on just the third day of the Test, as the bowlers dominated the proceedings throughout the eight sessions. On what was a difficult pitch to bat on, the Proteas put on a terrific fight, both with bat and ball, and proved why they were the reigning World Test Champions.
Several ex-cricketers shared their thoughts on X after the Temba Bavuma-led side claimed their first win in India in 15 years. Reacting to the win, former South African legend AB de Villiers wrote, “Crazy good win that! Well done Proteas. I’m speechless.”
Former India cricketer Sreevats Goswami said, “And this is why South Africa are world test champion for a reason ! India and the jam packed stadium at the Eden gardens will be extremely disappointed.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin praised the visitors’ efforts, saying, “Huge result for SA. Great game and well played to the proteas.”
“INCREDIBLE!! CRAZY EVEN!!!,” wrote Mpumelelo Mbangwa.
Former India player Irfan Pathan was critical of India’s batting, opining that their ability had gone down, but praised the World Test Champions’ game. He also lauded skipper Temba Bavuma’s fighting knock and said, “Skills to play spin on turning tracks around the world have definitely gone down, but this kind of batting from India shows how much our own ability has dropped too. Soft hands, wrist work,all of it has declined drastically. Brilliant win from the WTC South Africa. Temba Bavuma’s batting in the second innings was the highlight of the match.”
Former cricketer Venkatesh Prasad said, “While we have been excellent in white- ball cricket. We can’t call ourselves a top Test side with such planning. Selections without clarity and over-tactical thinking are backfiring. Poor results over a year in tests barring a drawn series in England.”
Wasim Jaffer was critical of the hosts’ performance and believed that they had not learned anything from their series loss to New Zealand as he wrote, “Looks like we haven’t learned our lesson from NZ series loss. The gap between our spinners and opposition spinners reduces on pitches like this. We need to go back to classic Indian pitches, like the ones in 2016-17 season when Virat was captain and Eng and NZ toured.”
Tabraiz Shamsi, elated with the result, wrote, “Wowwwwwwwwwwww!!!!! We've suffered for so many years in test cricket in India. This is massive!”
Former Protea legend Graeme Smith, meanwhile, wrote, “That’s a sensational win from our men in India one to celebrate.”
Former South African skipper Faf du Plessis had a one word reaction as he penned, “PROTEAS !!!!”
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif praised South Africa’s team selection as he wrote, “South Africa showed if you bowl well two spinners are enough to win a test match in india.”
The two teams will next face each other in Guwahati for the second Test, starting on Saturday at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.
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