‘Many had written us off after first loss’ – Coach Mark Boucher praises South Africa for turnaround against India

Proteas coach Mark Boucher praised the way the team bounced back after suffering a loss in the first Test. Boucher said that the team was written off after the defeat. Quinton de Kock also announced his retirement from Test cricket after the first Test which made South Africa a less experienced team than the Indian team.

India is ranked number in ICC Test rankings currently and performed really well last year. The team also featured in the final of the first-ever World Test Championship against New Zealand. Hence, defeating a team like India is no mean feat that too after conceding the first Test. South Africa lost the first Test by 113 runs in Centurion which was followed by a seven wickets win in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.

In the third Test, Keegan Petersen made 72 runs during the first innings and complimented it with 82 runs off 113 balls knock in the second innings. He won the player of the match award in the third Test, while finished as the leading run-scorer and also won the player of the series award.

“A lot of people, including the media, had written us off after day one of the first Test. It’s been great. It doesn’t surprise me, because you’ve got Dean as well who is that sort of character and he led from the front,” Boucher told reporters after the series win over India.

Dean Elgar and Temba Bavuma came to the rescue after the defeat in the first Test: Mark Boucher

Boucher praised the efforts of captain Dean Elgar and vice-captain Temba Bavuma in the last two matches of the series. He also mentioned that the other players also stepped up their own game.

“You’ve got Temba as the vice-captain who is the same fighter with that spirit in him. So you’ve got two leaders like that who the guys are going to follow. The guys stood up with regards to their own games as well.”