South Africa Coach Hails Phenomenal Team After Thrashing India

South Africa coach Shukri Conrad revealed his frustration on Thursday over his players being under-rated following an innings-and-32-run win over number one ranked India in the first Test in Centurion.

Shukri Conrad (Image Source: Google)

Very upsetting loss'

"These guys are absolutely phenomenal. And we have put succession plans in place. You need a bit of luck and things will fall into place," Conrad said.

South Africa have won three Tests in a row following his appointment as red-ball national coach at the start of the year, ending a five-match winless streak.

India captain Rohit Sharma described the defeat as "a very upsetting loss" and said it was the mentality of the players that separated the wheat from the chaff at Test level.

"Obviously there was a lot we did not do right. We have some inexperienced players and it is all about mental preparation and your plans.

"Even in terms of technique, it comes down to players’ individual plans against certain bowlers.

"KL Rahul was the perfect example in his first-innings hundred of showing intent and respecting the conditions. He had a strike-rate of 70-odd and he put the bad balls away.

"But we cannot just come in and swing our bats, it was not the conditions for that. There is a thin line between intent and discipline, and the players need to show that extra bit of temperament too.

"You cannot just have one mindset of 'this is how I bat', you must adapt.

"Jasprit Bumrah bowled well, but all he wanted was a bit of support at the other end, which he did not get.

"Hopefully this will teach us a lot about what we need to do as a bowling group," Rohit said.

The second and final Test in the series begins on Wednesday at Newlands in Cape Town.