Simon Harmer routs India and lifts South Africa to Test series sweep

South Africa completed a memorable 2-0 series sweep against India after the off-spinner Simon Harmer claimed six for 37 to bowl the Proteas to a 408-run victory in the second Test in Guwahati.

Chasing an improbable 549 to win, India were all out for 140 in the second session on the final day, with only Ravindra Jadeja (54) offering some resistance with the bat. Aiden Markram took a record nine catches in the match for the world Test champions, who won the opening Test in Kolkata inside three days.

“It’s a great feeling, a great effort by everyone to be fair,” Markram said. “As a group, you’ve got to believe that you can compete against the best in their backyard and get into the battle and see where it gets you … bloody proud of the team.”

Kuldeep Yadav is bowled by Simon Harmer. Photograph: Anupam Nath/AP

Having lost both openers on Tuesday, India entered the final day needing to bat out three sessions to eke out a pride-salvaging draw. The early struggles of their overnight batters inspired little confidence, though.

Sai Sudharsan (14) got a life when he was caught behind but it turned out Marco Jansen had overstepped. Kuldeep Yadav (five) got a reprieve when Markram spilled one – a rare aberration in an otherwise impeccable catching masterclass by the fielder.

An undeterred Harmer returned to send down a two-wicket over, bowling Kuldeep with a skiddy arm-ball and then inducing an edge from Dhruv Jurel, with Markram making no mistake this time.

Rishabh Pant, leading the hosts in the absence of the injured Shubman Gill, decided to hit the spinner Keshav Maharaj for a four and a six but the fun soon fizzled. Markram took another catch to remove Pant, who lunged forward to defend a Harmer delivery which hit the shoulder of the bat and the fielder grabbed the lob in the gully region.

The sinner Senuran Muthusamy ended Sudharsan’s 139-ball defiance and India’s slim chances of saving the match were practically over when Maharaj had Jadeja stumped.

Harmer’s tally of 17 wickets earned him the player-of-the-series award. Pant said: “As a team we need to get better and you have to give credit to the opposition because they played better than us.”