India vs South Africa: First Test - Five Talking Points

Pujara continued his impressive comeback to the sideRavindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin took eight wickets apiece on a pitch that was offering plenty of assistance to the spinners to seal a comprehensive 108-run victory over South Africa on day three of the first Test of the Freedom Series in Mohali.After winning the toss and choosing to bat, India were bundled out for 201 with Murali Vijay scoring the only fifty of the innings. But Ashwin's five-fer ensured that the hosts took a narrow 17-run lead on the second morning.A batting collapse on the third morning meant that South Africa were left to chase 218 for victory, when it looked at one point as it would be much more than that. But even that proved to be too much for the Proteas, who were bundled out for 109 thanks to Jadeja's five-fer.Here are the major talking points from the game.

#1 Jadeja steals the show on his comeback

Jadeja returns in style

When you have been out of the Test side for more than a year, as Ravindra Jadeja has, the first thing you want to do when you return, is to show the side just how much you have improved and worked on your game.

A Man of the Match performance, that included a crucial 38 with the bat in the first innings, followed by a match-winning five-wicket haul in the second innings to finish with eight wickets and two catches in the match is about as much as he could have hoped to have done to help his side take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Instead of sulking or cursing his luck about being dropped from all formats, Jadeja has put in the hard yards. Especially, in the domestic circuit, where he is this season's leading wicket-taker in Ranji Trophy with 38 wickets in four matches, and has reaped the rewards on his comeback to the Indian side.

#2 India\'s gamble pays off

Match wasn’t as comfortable as final scorecard suggests

After the Mumbai pitch fiasco in the final ODI, all the talk going into the first Test in Mohali was not about whether the pitch would turn, but when it would start turning. Despite winning the toss, Virat Kohli's side still had a lot to do, if they were to win on a pitch that was turning from day one and was tailor-made to suit their bowlers.

After scoring lesser than what they would have liked in both innings, India must have had their hearts in their mouth, thinking about whether their dream scenario was going to turn into their worst nightmare. Thankfully for the hosts, their spin trio took 19 of the 20 wickets on offer and ensured that the gamble they took in producing a wicket that was heavily loaded in favour of their spinners, didn't end up costing them the game.

#3 Inner demons haunt visitors more than the pitch

Captain unable to lead from the front

On commentary during the third day of the Test, former Indian spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan summed up the conditions perfectly, when he said "the devil is more in the mind than in the pitch". While there is no denying that the pitch offered plenty of assistance for the spinners, as Murali Vijay showed in both the innings, this was by no means a minefield.

The first three South African wickets that fell in the second innings were all straight deliveries that neither spun nor bounced considerably. While one could perhaps excuse both Vernon Philander (who isn't a batsman) and Francois du Plessis (who was playing in his first Test in India), Hashim Amla's decision to leave a straight ball from Ravindra Jadeja, which went onto crash into middle stump showed that the threat of turn had played tricks in the mind of even the very best.

On a pitch that was conducive to spin bowling, patience and playing each ball on its merit was crucial. Unfortunately for the visitors, not many of their batsmen did and they paid the price.

#4 Rankings don\'t always paint the complete picture

Proteas batting lacking experience in sub-continental conditions

Going into the series South Africa were the No.1 ranked Test side in the world. While the Proteas fully deserve their spot in the rankings, India's position as the No.2 ranked ODI side, despite losing two of their three ODI series since the World Cup shows that the rankings aren't always the best barometer of how good a side is.

Not only are the visitors without the experience of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, both of whom played in their last tour of India, but two of their top six batsmen have played less than 10 tests and two were playing their first Test in India in this game.

While the other two go by the name of AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla, the lack of experience in the batting lineup, coupled with the loss of a couple of their key players to injury prior to the series shows despite their ranking, the side that was bamboozled by the Indian spin trio is but a shadow of the side that rose to the top of the Test rankings.

#5 Records are meant to be broken

Ashwin continues to break records for fun

Prior to this Test, Hashim Amla hadn't lost a single Test as captain. While it was unreasonable to expect him to continue that record forever, the manner in which it was obliterated showed just how cruel the game of cricket can be at times.

If the match will be remembered for all the wrong reasons for Amla, for Ashwin, it will be for all the right reasons. Not only did he become the fourth-fastest bowler to 150 Test wickets and joint-fastest among current bowlers, he also crossed the 100 wicket mark in India, in just 16 tests, showing once again, just how lethal he is, when he has even the slighest hint of help.

Although Kohli didn't have the greatest of matches as a batsman in his first Test as captain at home, he is unlikely lose sleep over that fact as long as the team is winning.

Given how much I've spoken about records being there, to be broken, here is some food for thought. India's last four home Tests (including this one) have all ended in three days and in a victory for the hosts, how much longer can India keep that record going?