An "elated" Dean Elgar expressed his pride and says South Africa must continue to grow after they came from behind to seal a 2-1 Test series win over India.
The Proteas completed the turnaround at Newlands on day four, winning by seven wickets to ensure the tourists' wait for an elusive Test series triumph in South Africa goes on.
Keegan Petersen top scored with 82 as Elgar's side chased down their target of 212 to secure victory by the same margin they accomplished in the second Test at the Wanderers.
Shardul Thakur's dismissal of Petersen was the only wicket India took on the penultimate day, with Rassie van der Dussen (41 not out) and Temba Bavuma (32no) seeing South Africa home after lunch in Cape Town.
The Proteas looked to be up against in after losing the first Test in Centurion by 113 runs before being rocked when Quinton de Kock dropped a bombshell by retiring from Test cricket.
Captain Elgar says his side must take huge credit for rising to the challenge with a brilliant fightback in a captivating series as they moved above India to go fourth in the World Test Championship table.
The opener said: "I'm pretty elated, I Couldn't be prouder of the group. The guys responded brilliantly. After the first loss, had a lot of hope knowing we can still win this.
"I asked the players to respond in a better nature, better way and they responded brilliantly. I'm extremely happy. Challenging your players within the group, you need character to stand up. The way our bowling unit delivered throughout the series is brilliant.
"I threw down the challenge after the first game and the guys responded brilliantly. We've got a young, talented group. Every day in this environment, we're gaining this experience.
"It's unreal to see how a group that doesn't have the repertoire or names can gel together as one. I'm extremely proud of this group. If you want to operate at a high performance level, have to have tough chats.
"If guys don't like it, it's up to them to deal with. I've got old-school mentality with a new-school twist. We laid down challenges to senior players as well, great to see them take it on board and deliver.
"Us as a close group, we've been hurting a little bit and it's something for us to feed off. We played as a unit, if you can do that, if you have guys moving away, it's a challenge to pull them in.
"I think as a unit, we've grown massively over the last two Tests. I'm already thinking of the next series. Lot of positives, but in order to grow, we need to curb the challenges we have."
Elgar was full of praise for number three Petersen, 28, who scored a half-century in both innings of the final Test to pick up both the man of the match and player of the series awards.
The skipper said: "He's dominated domestic cricket, awesome to see him have a great series. Long may he grow, there's lot of improvement from his point of view.
"The world is his oyster. Even though he's someone older, he's winning to learn. He's a proper character within that team environment. I'm proud of what he has achieved."
Late collapse puts India on the back foot against New Zealand
Ravindra Jadeja took a five-for but New Zealand hit back with some late wickets of their own against India on Friday.
India looked in complete control at 78-1 in the penultimate over of the first day of the third Test in Mumbai, having bowled New Zealand out for 235.
Jadeja, who bowled 22 unchanged overs, was in sensational form with the ball, taking 5-65.
Able support arrived from the excellent Washington Sundar, who finished with figures of 4-81. His haul included the wicket of Daryl Mitchell (82), who was the only New Zealand batter to really make a dent.
Rohit Sharma's dismissal for 18 in the seventh over did not derail a positive start to India's chase, with Yashasvi Jaiswal (30) and Shubman Gill (31 not out) looking steady at the crease.
However, Jaiswal was bowled by Ajaz Patel (2-33) in the 18th over, with Mohammed Siraj pinned lbw from the very next ball.
Patel was unable to complete his hat-trick, but Virat Kohli was run out for four in the next over as New Zealand rallied, and the tourists now have plenty of momentum heading into day two.
Data Debrief: Three of a kind
India have won their last three Tests at Wankhede Stadium, including a 372-run win over New Zealand in their last match at the venue (3 December 2021), after not registering a win in three matches prior to that span (D1 L2).
And they looked well placed to push on and continue that run as they looked to avoid slipping to a third defeat of the series.
They last lost three successive Tests on home soil back in the 1970s, when they faced England, but their late capitulation has left them vulnerable to matching that.
South Africa bowlers earn dominant victory over Bangladesh
South Africa wrapped up the second Test against Bangladesh inside three days by hammering their hosts by an innings and 273 runs in Chattogram.
The victory made it a 2-0 clean sweep in the series for the tourists, who had started the third day in a great spot having left Bangladesh 38-4 in their first innings at stumps on Wednesday.
The Proteas tore through the Bangladesh middle order before bowling them all out for 159 in their first innings.
Seamer Kagiso Rabada, on the way to a five-for, got the ball rolling with the dismissal of captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (nine) before Mushfiqur Rahim was caught by Tony de Zorzi off Dane Paterson for a duck.
Wickets continued to fall in quick succession, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz (one) and Mahidul Islam Ankon (zero) both dismissed by Rabada to leave Bangladesh 48-8. Despite a late rally, they were all out for 159 and South Africa enforced the follow-on to good effect.
Bangladesh made another poor start to their innings, losing Mahmudul Hasan Joy (11), Shadman Islam (six), Zakir Hasan (seven) and Mominul Haque (zero) for just 43 runs, as Keshav Maharaj (5-59) and Senuran Muthusamy leading South Africa's charge to victory.
Data Debrief: Bangladesh's dismal home form rolls on
This defeat was Bangladesh's fifth Test loss in a row at home, which equals their worst run since October 2011 and November 2012.
But the third day of this test was all about South Africa's bowlers, who took 16 wickets in total.
Rabada was first to take a five-for in the first innings, but was later joined by Maharaj. Senuran Muthasamy, meanwhile, took career-best figures of 4-45 in the second innings.
Santner helps end India's 12-year unbeaten home Test series record
New Zealand made history by becoming the first touring side to win a Test series in India since 2012 with a historic 113-run triumph in Pune on Saturday.
Mitchell Santner's figures of 6-104 in the second innings proved decisive, bowling the Blackcaps to an insurmountable 2-0 lead in the series.
New Zealand started the day 198-5 with Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips at the crease, the former adding 11 runs to his overnight total before being bowled out by Ravindra Jadeja.
Phillips (48) remained until the end as the wickets tumbled around him as Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel and Will O'Rourke all failed to reach double figures.
The Blackcaps posted a total of 255, to give India a target of 359 for victory, with the hosts starting well in their run chase through Yashasvi Jaiswal's 77 runs from 66 balls.
But Santner would go on to rip out the top order, claiming the wickets of Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (eight), Shubman Gill (23) and Virat Kohli (17) and Rishabh Pant (zero), the latter coming via a run out.
India were desperate for a batter to steady the ship, but it never came to fruition, as Washington Sundar (21) was bowled out by Phillips, while Sarfaraz Khan (nine) became Santner's latest victim.
The victory was sealed when Jadeja (18) was caught by Daryl Mitchell on the boundary, sparking joyous scenes among the tourists.
Data Debrief: Santner stars in historic win
New Zealand have beaten India on their home turf, marking their first home series loss in 12 years, with the triumph spearheaded by Santner.
Having never taken more than three wickets in an innings or six in a match, Santner ended with match figures of 13 for 157, the third-best by any visiting bowler in India.
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