SA vs IND 1st Test: India loses 3 after wrapping Proteas for 286

Cape Town: India found itself in a similar situation like South Africa as they lost their first three wickets for mere 27 runs in the first Test at the Newlands here on Friday.

At Stumps on Day 1, after South Africa put up 286 runs on the board, India was reeling under pressure at 28/3 with Cheteshwar Pujara (5 off 18) and Rohit Sharma (0 off 5) batting at the crease.

Among the dismissed batsmen were openers Murali Vijay (1 off 17) and Shikhar Dhawan (16 off 13), and skipper Virat Kohli (5 off 13). While Kohli fell prey to a brilliant delivery pitched in the good length region by Morne Morkel, Vijay and Dhawan threw away their wickets on not so good deliveries.

Vijay followed a ball, bowled by Vernon Philander, going away from the off-stump, while Dhawan unnecessarily tried to pull a marginally short delivery bowled by Dale Steyn.

Also Read: SA vs IND 1st Test: South Africa dismissed for 286 as Bhuvi bags 4

Earlier, despite Indian bowlers did not let any Proteas batsmen settle down at the crease, South Africa, owing to a healthy scoring rate and lower-order partnerships, put up 286 runs on the board in the first inning.

In the third session of Day 1, the South African batsmen added 56 runs and lost three wickets. Keshav Maharaj played a crucial inning of 35 runs off 47 balls with 3 fours and a six. Kagiso Rabada also played added 26 runs off 66 balls and also smashed a six.

Dale Steyn remained unbeaten at 16 runs off 31 balls with a boundary. Morne Morkel was the last man to be dismissed after scoring 2 runs off 9 balls.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who dismantled the Proteas top order, was the pick of the bowlers for India as he bagged four wickets for 87 runs in 19 overs, while Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah picked up one wicket each.

Also Read: SA vs IND 1st Test: South Africa flounders on Day 1

Ravichandran Ashwin, who remained ineffective in the early stage of the inning, finally got two wickets in the lower order.

Earlier in the first session, South Africa could not enjoy the advantage of winning the toss as they were quickly restored to 12/3 by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis used their experience to consolidate South Africa after Indian paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar wrecked havoc by sending back top three batsman in the three-match series opener.

At Lunch on Day 1, De Villiers was unbeaten at 59 off 65 balls and had smashed 11 boundaries, while skipper Du Plessis was not out at 37 off 67 deliveries. He also scored 7 boundaries in his inning. South Africa was still under pressure at 107/3 with two of their most experienced batsman batting at the crease.

Also Read: SA vs IND 1st Test: De Villiers consolidates Proteas after Bhuvi magic

Earlier, openers Dean Elgar (0 off 2) and Aiden Markram (5 off 11) and Hashim Amla (3 off 10) could not make it to the double figures as Bhuvneshwar Kumar was hitting the deck at the right spots and was swinging the ball in and out both ways.

India regained momentum in the second session of the first Test by dismissing four South African batsmen for 123 runs after AB de Villiers and skipper Faf du Plessis had stitched together a 114-run partnership for the fourth wicket at Newlands here on Friday.

At Tea on Day 1, India was in a dominating position with South Africa reeling under pressure at 230/7. The condition of the home side could have been worst if some straight forwards chances were not missed at the slip cordon.

Also Read: SA vs IND, 1st Test: SA wins toss, elects to bat first against India

Jasprit Bumrah broke a solid looking partnership as an in-swinging delivery kissed the AB de Villiers' off stump when he was batting at 65 runs. He took 84 balls and smashed 11 boundaries. Du Plessis also departed in quick succession as he edged a delivery bowled by Mohammed Shami to wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha.

Du Plessis scored 62 runs off 104 deliveries with the help of 12 fours. Wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock, who has a solid record against India, was looking good in his 43-run knock off just 40 balls. He scored 7 fours before becoming the fourth victim of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Vernon Philander was stunned by a fabulous in-swinging delivery by Mohammed Shami as he went back at 23 runs off 35 balls. He also scored 4 boundaries. Keshav Maharaj had also got a life when he was dropped at the third slip by Shikhar Dhawan.