South Africa sent Australia packing with a historic 3-1 series win Tuesday at the Wanderers.
Not only was it the Proteas’ first Test series win over the Baggy Greens on home soil since readmission, but the 492-run winning margin was also the biggest in terms of runs since the turn of the century.
On top of that, Vernon Philander’s six-wicket haul on the final day brought an end to a drama-filled series which saw Oz captain Steve Smith and vice captain Dave Warner as well as batsman Cameron Bancroft miss the final match because of ball-tampering.
Still, Man of the Series Kagiso Rabada, who claimed 23 wickets in the four matches, retiring Morne Morkel and the rest of their teammates stood tall on the final day in Johannesburg.
And captain Faf du Plessis has every reason to be over the moon with his team’s performance, saying: “This series has been remarkable.
“Four Test matches for your bowlers to get 80 wickets in a series says that your bowling is on top.
“Our batting unit – I think it was five hundreds scored and one or two 90s. So as a team we’ve performed really well.
“You don’t get the chance to play against Australia in a series and beat them 3-1, so that tells a lot about the cricket that we played.
“The guys were extremely motivated to turn it around after that first Test match... it’s been a long summer and a very successful one for this Test team.”
NUMBERS GAME:
1 – First Test series win over Australia at home since readmission
3 – Matches won out of four by SA
6 – Wickets taken by Vernon Philander yesterday
23 – Wickets taken by Man of the Series Kagiso Rabada
492 – Biggest victory in terms of runs margin between the two sides