CAPE TOWN: Indian bowlers Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah took advantage of helpful conditions to send South Africa tumbling to 130 all out on the fourth day of the first Test on Monday.
India were set to make 208 to win in the match at Newlands that is hastening toward a conclusion despite the loss of the third day to rain.
Shami and Bumrah were the main destroyers, taking three wickets each.
AB de Villiers fought a lone battle for South Africa, making 35 before being last man out, caught by one of eight fielders on the boundary after he was joined by an injured Dale Steyn after the fall of the ninth wicket.
Shami started the collapse, dismissing Hashim Amla with the ninth ball of the morning and taking three wickets for 28 runs.
Bumrah took three for 39 and claimed the key wickets of South African captain Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock.
Du Plessis fell to an unplayable delivery which lifted sharply off a good length and flicked a glove. He also took the wicket of De Villiers, who was trying to hit a six at the end of the innings.
Steyn, ruled out of bowling again in the match because of an injured heel, arrived at the ground on crutches but as wickets tumbled he put on the pads and limped out to the wicket. He blocked four balls but was clearly unable to run.
Indian captain Virat Kohli sent eight fielders to the boundary when De Villiers faced Bumrah in the next over.
De Villiers went for a big hit but Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a well-judged catch, with his feet just inside the boundary.
After being under covers for two nights and a day, the pitch offered plenty of seam movement and occasional steep bounce.
South Africa, who started the day on 65 for two, lost eight wickets for 65 runs during the morning, with the innings ending shortly before lunch.
South Africa collapse to 130 all out
South Africa collapse to 130 all out
Arsenal thrash Villa 4-1 while Chelsea and Man Utd both held
- Arsenal end Aston Villa’s 11-game winning streak
- Wolves earn third point of season against Man United
LONDON: Arsenal closed out 2025 in emphatic fashion, smashing third-placed Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday to surge five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who collected their third point of the season, while Bournemouth grabbed a point at stuttering Chelsea, forcing a 2-2 draw after a frantic first-half display.
Man United are sixth, level on 30 points with fifth-placed Chelsea.
At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal slammed the door shut on charging Villa, ending their club-record winning run of 11 games.
Goals by Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi early in the second half gave Arsenal control of a game that had looked fraught with danger.
Gabriel bundled in the opener from a corner in the 48th minute before Martin Odegaard slid a pass through for Zubimendi to score four minutes later. Arsenal secured the points when Leandro Trossard fired home from the edge of the area before Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to add the fourth.
Ollie Watkins grabbed a consolation goal for Villa in stoppage time.
“I think it was amazing,” Jesus told Sky Sports. “It’s always hard to play against them... The mentality of the team is really, really growing and each game is growing even more and I think we are winning today because of the mentality.”
Arsenal top the standings with 45 points, while second-placed Manchester City can close the gap when they play at Sunderland on Thursday.
Villa are six points adrift of Arsenal.
It took six minutes at Stamford Bridge for Bournemouth to shock Chelsea when David Brooks grabbed the opener. Cole Palmer equalized from the spot in the 15th minute and Fernandez put Chelsea ahead with a bullet shot eight minutes later.
Justin Kluivert brought Bournemouth back level in the 27th, to grab a point, adding to the London side’s unenviable record of one win in seven league games. Chelsea sit fifth, while Bournemouth are 10 spots below them.
Man Utd struggle
Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee made the most of a rare start by giving the depleted hosts the lead with a deflected shot from the edge of the box in the 27th minute.
But Wolves managed to level just before the break thanks to a header from Ladislav Krejci.
Patrick Dorgu briefly celebrated what he thought was a 90th-minute winner, but it was chalked off for offside.
“We struggled in all the game,” United boss Ruben Amorim said. “We had a lack of creation... the fluidity offensively wasn’t there.
“We didn’t play well. When you don’t play well with the ball, you struggle without it.”
Wolves have three points from 19 games, 15 points from the safety zone.
Newcastle United’s Joelinton scored after 65 seconds and Yoane Wissa doubled their lead five minutes later in a 3-1 thrashing of 19th-placed Burnley, who are winless in their last 10 games.
Josh Laurent pulled one back in the 23rd minute, but Bruno Guimaraes sealed Newcastle’s rare away win with a goal in stoppage time.
Everton climbed to eighth in the standings with a 2-0 win over their former manager Sean Dyche and Nottingham Forest thanks to goals from James Garner and Thierno Barry.
West Ham United drew 2-2 with Brighton & Hove Albion in a game that featured three penalties in the first half.
Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta, from the penalty spot, scored before the break for West Ham, while Brighton’s Danny Welbeck struck from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute but fired another off the crossbar.
Joel Veltman scored for Brighton in the 61st minute to secure the draw.
There are four more games on New Year’s Day, including fourth-placed Liverpool hosting Leeds United at Anfield.
