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'It's been great' - Mark Boucher after South Africa's series win

Mark Boucher has opened up on his team's brilliant series win over Team India. He also stated that people had written the Proteas off after their first Test defeat in Centurion

By Shurti Banerjee | Jan 15, 2022 | 2 Min Read

South Africa head coach Mark Boucher has opened up on his team’s brilliant series win over Team India. He also stated that people had written the Proteas off after their first Test defeat in Centurion. However, the hosts bounced back brilliantly and Boucher praised his players for returning in the series from a 1-0 defeat to record a stunning series win in the three-match Test series.

Notably, the hosts got out by 113 runs in the first Test in Pretoria. But they bounced back with a comparatively young side and won both Johannesburg and Cape Town Tests as well.

“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,” Mark Boucher told reporters after the series win over India.

“As a coach, you actually have your hands tied behind your back” – Mark Boucher

Boucher further added that experienced batsmen like Temba Bavuma and Dean Elgar have stepped up after everyone had written them off after day one of the first Test.

He again shared: “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. To come back after losing the first day badly to then compete in the first Test, and then to win the second and third Tests… This Indian team is probably the best team in world cricket Test-wise at the moment. This is something that our boys certainly won’t take for granted.”

“It was quite a nervous day for the changing room. As a coach, you actually have your hands tied behind your back and you can’t go out there and change the game at all. But from a nerves perspective, it was one of my more nervous Test days,” Mark Boucher concluded.