Captain Virat Kohli returned to form with a scintillating 79 before South Africa bowled out India for 223 on the opening day of Test cricket from both sides in Cape Town.
South Africa v India, 3rd Test: Day 1hHighlights
South Africa reached 17 for one as Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj held fort for the hosts at stumps on the first day. Jasprit Bumrah was India’s only successful bowler as he prepared a cracker to remove in-form Proteas captain Dean Elgar. In the last hour of the game 3.
India 223 to Rabada taking 4 wickets
Virat Kohli signaled a return to form with 79 runs but India were bowled out for 223 after tea on the first day of the decisive third and final Test against South Africa at Newlands on Tuesday. South Africa bowled tight line and length and would be happy with their efforts after losing the toss.
Batting first, Kohli scored 79 runs in 201 balls for the visitors, which included 12 fours and a six. Cheteshwar Pujara scored 43 runs in 77 balls. South Africa’s fast bowlers, especially Rabada, asked batsmen a lot of questions under a cloudy sky in Newlands with floodlights.
Playing in his 50th Test, Rabada finished with impressive figures of 4/73, while left-arm seamer Marco Jensen continued his fine form with 3/55 on an auxiliary wicket in Cape Town as both sides went on to win the series. Want a win which is closed at 1-1.
Waiting for Virat Kohli’s 71st international century continues
Virat Kohli’s wait for his 71st international century continued as India’s Test captain was dismissed after scoring 79 runs in the final session of the opening day. Kohli, who missed the second Test due to a back injury, looked on course for his maiden Test century in two years until South Africa’s premier fast bowler Kagiso Rabada shortened his innings.
Kohli, who has been found weak against the off-stump line, played some free-flowing cover drives but was more attentive when the ball was bowled into the fourth-stump corridor. Kohli played a single-handed total of about 79 runs, only supported by veteran Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 43 when the visiting team won the toss and decided to bat in stormy conditions.
India all out on 223
Lungi Ngidi took the last wicket Virat Kohli scored the highest score of 79 runs.
How much will South Africa earn before the stumps?
Watch #SAvIND Be dependent https://t.co/CPDKNxoJ9v (in select areas)#wtc23 , https://t.co/Wbb1FE1P6t pic.twitter.com/aUGrsFqMj4
— ICC (@ICC) 11 January 2022
Notably, Kohli had finished 2020 and 2021 without an international century. In fact, it was the first time in his career that he completed two full calendar years without achieving a three-figure score. Kohli scored 536 runs in 11 matches in 2021 at a modest average of 28.21, as opposed to his career average of 50.34.
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