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South Africa record biggest-ever win in India

05/04/2008

South Africa have beaten India by an innings and 90 runs to take a 1-0 lead in their three-match series in Ahmedabad.

The tourists had declared overnight on a total of 494-7, giving them a lead of 418.

Despite this impressive score, they failed to sit back and quickly got to work reducing the hosts to just 125-4 in their second innings, with the pace bowlers Makhaya Ntini, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel all making life difficult for the batsmen.

Opener Virender Sehwag managed to hit two sixes before being trapped lbw by Ntini for 17, with former captain Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer following shortly after.

It was only the fifth wicket pairing of Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who hit 87 and 52 respectively, that prevented India from recording one of their worst-ever test match results.

Once Steyn had Ganguly caught behind, the Proteas got their momentum back, getting India all out for 328 and recording their best win on Indian soil.

South African captain Graeme Smith stated that the game was "the perfect test match for us, while his Indian counterpart Anil Kumble admitted that his side's first innings display made a comeback a near-impossibility, saying "it was difficult to come back after getting bowled out for 76".