Things were happening at a breath-taking pace in the first Test of the three-match series during South Africa’s tour of India as the pace kept going back and forth between the two teams. Playing at Newlands in Cape Town, India were ambitious about creating history by winning their maiden Test series on Proteas land.
However, things did not go as planned for the Indian side during the first three days of the Test match. Chasing a score of 286, India were bundled out for 209. With a lead of 77 runs, South Africa were expected to do better in their second batting innings.
The fourth day began with two wickets for 65 runs, the hosts were strong contenders to take the lead until the Indian fast bowlers made a comeback. When Mohammed Shami picked up Hashim Amla on the fourth day, he was playing on four. The seamer then took another quick wicket in the form of nightwatchman Kagiso Rabada.
Making his Test debut, Jasprit Bumrah also lit up his class game as he picked up AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, while Shami returned with his third wicket dismissing Vernon Philander. The exploits of the two Indian fast bowlers helped India make a comeback in the game and boost their chances of starting the three-match series on a positive note.
South Africa could only manage 130 runs in their previous batting innings, taking their lead of 207 runs. The score was not big considering India’s decorated batting. India started the fourth innings on a positive note as Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan looked well settled in the middle.
Both shared a crucial 30-run partnership. However, Morne Morkel gave important success to his team by hitting a four in the third over. After this another quick wicket of Murali came in the hands of Philander.
Moving to number three, Cheteshwar Pujara also failed to do much as he lost his wicket to Morkel at 4. Captain Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma tried to stabilize India’s innings at 39 for three. Both batted brilliantly and scored a total of 70 runs.
However, the middle order collapsed when Kohli was dismissed when he was playing on 28. India soon lost all hope with a score of 82/7. The pair of Ravi Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were successful in the dugout with a brilliant partnership of 48 runs.
Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar were the last pair of Indian batsmen to offer some resistance. However, Philander once again ensured South Africa’s dominance by sending Ashwin back to the pavilion.
Although Bhuvneshwar remained not out, the seamer alone could not do much on the 22-yard pitch. India lost all their ten wickets in 43 overs and Philander picked up six wickets. Exceptional bowling performances helped South Africa win the Test by 72 runs to take a 1–0 lead.
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