Day 1 of the second Test between India and South Africa was action-packed and entertaining as the Proteas finished with just 55 runs in the first innings. The Indian team also did not bat for long and scored 153 runs in their first innings with a lead of 98 runs in the first innings. The hosts finished Day 1 at 62/3 and the match is currently tied.
Winning the toss and batting first turned out to be a worse decision for South Africa’s stand-in captain Dean Elgar as Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj reduced the Proteas to 15/4. Siraj removed the Proteas’ top three batsmen, while Jasprit Bumrah took a wicket. Siraj removed Aiden Markram for 2 runs thanks to a brilliant catch by Yashasvi Jaiswal.
IND vs SA: Mohammed Siraj becomes a nightmare for South Africa at Newlands
Dean Elgar who was the centurion in the previous one was cleansed by Mohammed Siraj for 4 runs, while Tony de Zorzi was trapped behind the stumps for 3 runs while trying to touch a ball with his outside leg and became Siraj’s third victim.
An action-packed day 1 in Cape Town comes to an end 🙌🏻
A total of 2️⃣3️⃣ plots of land were claimed on opening day!
South Africa 62/3 in the second innings, 36 runs down.
Dashboard ▶️ https://t.co/PVJRWPfGBE#TeamIndia | #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/7lo71BWms0
-BCCI (@BCCI) January 3, 2024
Mohammed Siraj’s dominance in the first innings continued when David Bedingham became the fourth hit dam with 12 runs. However, the highlight of Siraj’s fife was Marco Jansen, who was dismissed for a duck by a classic Siraj outswinger. Jansen became Siraj’s fifth victim, delivering the third fifty of his Test career. Kyle Verreynne (15) was the sixth batsman dismissed by Siraj in the first innings and also helped him complete a six-fer.
South Africa’s fall did not last long as Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar cleaned up South Africa’s history. Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada and Nandre Burger were the last three South African wickets to fall in the first innings.
Mohammed Siraj completed the innings with figures of 6/15 in nine overs, while Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar picked up 2 wickets each by giving 25 and 0 runs in 8 and 2.2 overs respectively.
India’s start to their first innings was aggressive as Rohit Sharma hit Lungi Ngidi for 13 runs in the first over. However, Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal once again failed to score and was dismissed for a duck. Shubman Gill came out and played some solid shots early on.
ICYMI!
A 6⃣ tour in Cape Town! 🔥🔥
Leave an emoji to describe that spell 😎#TeamIndia | #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/PAthXf73Ao
-BCCI (@BCCI) January 3, 2024
The duo of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill added 55 runs for the second wicket but was soon broken by Nandre Burger, who dismissed Rohit for 39 runs thanks to a brilliant gully catch by Marco Jansen. Gill also did not last long at the crease and it was Burger again who struck for South Africa and removed Gill for 36 runs.
It was another day, another failure for Shreyas Iyer in Test cricket as Nandre Burger showed him the way back to the dressing room by bowling him out for a duck. As wickets continued to fall at one end, Indian batsman Virat Kohli remained steady at the other end. India finished with 111/4 in Tea.
Virat Kohli continued his strong approach after tea and took India’s score from 111/4 to 153/4. However, India faced one of the worst batting collapses in the history of international cricket as they lost their remaining six wickets for a score of 153 runs.
The string started with KL Rahul who had to depart for 8 runs courtesy of Lungi Ngidi, while it was Kagiso Rabada who got rid of Virat Kohli for 8 runs. Soon after the departure of Virat and Rahul, India’s lower order failed to add any runs and Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj were dismissed for a duck. Nandre Burger (3/42), Kagiso Rabada (3/38) and Lungi Ngidi (3/30) finished the innings with a three-wicket haul. India finished the first innings at 153 runs and took a lead of 98 runs.
In response, South African openers Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar had a positive mindset and added 37 runs for the first wicket. However, it was Mukesh Kumar who removed Elgar for 12 runs and caught him off slips from Virat Kohli.
What will happen on day 2?
This was the last time Dean Elgar batted in his international career and he shared warm hugs from the Indian players. Soon after his departure, Tony de Zorzi was next to fall by 1 run to Mukesh Kumar, while Tristan Stubbs became the third South African wicket to fall in the second innings to Jasprit Bumrah by 1 run.
In the end, the Proteas finished Day 1 at 62/3 in 17 overs as Aiden Markram and David Bedingham were at the crease. South Africa are currently 36 runs behind in response to India’s first innings lead.
