Virat victory

Ravindra Jadeja led the charge with a five-wicket haul as India overpowered South Africa by 108 runs on Day III of the first Test at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali on Saturday. This Test also marked Virat Kohli’s first victory as the Indian skipper on his home turf. Chasing a target of 218 runs, the Proteas could only manage 109 in their second innings on the rapidly crumbling wicket before being all out. India, who had started the day at 125/2 in their second innings, were all out for 200 shortly after lunch. Imran Tahir (4-48) and Simon Harmer (4-61) spun a web around the Indian batsmen to grab four-wicket hauls. But the Proteas could not rejoice for long as their batsmen struggled to come to terms with the copious turn and variable bounce. Mishra (1/19), introduced in the 10th over of the innings, then produced the big moment after cleaning up first-innings top-scorer AB de Villiers (16) on a flighted, pitched up delivery that stayed low and rushed on to the off stump. This was the second time in the match that Mishra had plotted the star batsman’s downfall. The two teams will now travel to Bengaluru for the second Test, beginning Nov 14.