Jasprit Bumrah: Cape Town's Newlands will always hold a special place in my heart

Cape Town, Jan 4 (PTI) Newlands will always hold a "special place" for Jasprit Bumrah as it was at this very venue that his Test journey started six years ago, and winning the Player of the Series Award in a memorable Indian victory here was the icing on the cake.

Bumrah (6/61) ran through South Africa's middle-order in a menacing spell on Thursday morning, bowling them out for 176 to leave India with a target of 79 for a series-levelling win.

Aiden Markram's magnificent, counterattacking century (106 off 103 balls) only delayed the inevitable as the match ended inside five sessions, becoming the shortest ever game in the history of Test cricket.

"This ground will always hold a special place in my heart," Bumrah, who was the leading wicket-taker in the two-match series with 12 scalps to his name, said at the post-match presentation.

"The journey started here in 2018, always have fond memories. Very happy it went well today.

"Our bowling unit was experienced and we wanted to make an impact. I didn't expect the game to go this fast." As many as 23 wickets tumbled on day one with the hosts being bowled out for 55 and the visitors for 153 before India lost three more wickets in their second innings.

In the second session of the second day, India completed the task in 12 overs.

On South Africa opting to bat first after winning the toss, Bumrah said: "We wanted to bat first as well. Test cricket gives you surprises. Great series." India had a new-look pace bowling attack in the absence of injured Mohammed Shami, featuring the likes of Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna alongside Mohammed Siraj.

"Our team is going through a transition but the message is the same -- keep fighting. A lot of bowlers have been changed, the message in the team is, keep fighting.

"We fought it out in the last game as well. It requires a lot of patience. We are very happy that we were able to do it in this game." On a very quick Newlands pitch offering inconsistent bounce, Siraj demolished the South African batting in the first innings, setting the tone for the seven-wicket win.

"It's my best figures in Test career. I tried to be consistent and hit the right areas," player of the match Siraj, who ended with a career-best 6/15, said.

"I wasn't consistent in the previous match and that's why we leaked a lot of runs. Worked hard on consistency and tried to be relentless with my lengths." He further credited his senior bowling partner Bumrah for his success.

"When we play together with Jassi bhai, we analyse the wicket quicker and understand the plans." PTI