2nd Test: Steyn guns down India to help SA win series

Hosts claim 10-wicket win as Kallis quits Tests .

DURBAN: Dale Steyn took two early wickets to set up an emphatic 10-wicket win for South Africa on the fifth day of the second and final Test against India at Kingsmead on Monday.

The win clinched the two-match series for South Africa after the first Test in Johannesburg was drawn. It also confirmed South Africa’s ranking as the world’s number one Test team ahead of second-ranked India.

Fast-bowler Steyn set the tone for South Africa by taking two key wickets in his first two overs of the day. He followed up with a third wicket – his 350th in Tests – with the second new ball and finished with three for 47 as India were dismissed for 223, leaving South Africa a target of 58.

Alviro Petersen and Graeme Smith need only 48 minutes and 11.4 overs to knock off the runs. It meant that Jacques Kallis, playing in his last Test, did not need to bat again after his first innings of 115 built the platform for South Africa to take a crucial 166-run first-innings lead.

Steyn dismissed overnight batsmen Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara after India resumed on 68 for two. Vernon Philander dismissed Rohit Sharma and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson took two wickets in one over before lunch to leave India facing defeat with only the tail to come.

Ajinkya Rahane carried India’s hopes and made a fighting 96, his second half-century of the match, before he was the last man out.

Steyn finished with three for 47 while new ball partner Vernon Philander took three for 43 and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson claimed four for 74.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2013.

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