CRICKET
Day 1: India bundled out, Jansen shines again
The skipper Elgar and Petersen survived till the end of day 1 after losing Aiden Markram early on before wrapping up the Indian batting lineup on just 202 runs.
The South African pacers bowled brilliantly today to put their side in a commanding position at the end of day 1.
India 1st innings 202 all-out
Rahul 50 Jansen 4-31 Ashwin 46 Olivier 3-64 Agarwal 26 Rabada 3-64
South Africa 1st innings 35-1
Petersen 14* Shami 1-15 D. Elgar 11* Markram 7
KL Rahul led the Indian team today in the absence of Virat Kohli, who was injured today before the start of the match.
He won the toss in his first match as a Test captain and elected to bat first.
Rahul again played a superb knock of 50 runs but the South African pacers were outstanding today as they wrapped up the Indian batting lineup on just 202 runs.
Olivier was an unlikely candidate for selection but he picked up 3 wickets.
The experienced Rabada also picked up 3 wickets but the leading wicket taker was Marco Jansen.
Playing in only his second match, he claimed 4 wickets in his spell.
Ashwin made a crucial 46, in the end, to drag the total over 200 runs.
Rahul and Agarwal were again looking good in the start as they successfully negotiated the first hour without losing any wicket.
But after drinks break, Jansen bowled a superb delivery to Mayank Agarwal to dismiss him when he was looking good on 26 runs.
In the absence of Kohli, the expectations were high from Pujara and Rahane to score some big runs today to get their form back.
But unfortunately, it wasn’t a good day for them as both of them were dismissed on back-to-back deliveries.
Olivier picked two in two
The tall pace bowler, Olivier first dismissed Pujara on a short of length delivery that pitched outside off.
Pujara was surprised with the extra bounce and the ball went straight into the hands of Bavuma at the point.
On the very next delivery, Olivier dismissed Rahane on a golden duck.
Olivier again bowled a short of length outside off delivery and Rahane got an outside edge that went into the hands of gully fielder.
It was also the 50th Test wicket for Olivier.
Rahul batted brilliantly and scored another superb half-century when the wickets were tumbling from the other end.
He tried to rescue his side by putting up a stand with Hanuma Vihari.
They took the score from 49-3 to 91 runs but Vihari lost his wicket to a superb delivery from Rabada.
When the score reached 116-4, Jansen dismissed the dangerous Rahul for 50 runs.
India lost Pant and Thakur in back-to-back overs.
Ashwin played a very crucial knock of 46 runs off just 50 balls at the end that helped the Indian side to pass the 200 runs mark.
South Africa pacers shine with the ball
The South African pace bowlers were brilliant today as they bowled some great lines.
The bowling lineup of South Africa looked more dangerous after the addition of Olivier, who took three crucial wickets today including the scalps of Pujara and Rahane.
Marco Jansen who made a fantastic debut in the last match was also superb today.
He claimed the big wickets of Rahul, Agarwal, Pant, and Ashwin. Rabada also picked up 3 wickets while Ngidi remained wicket-less today.
Mohammad Shami struck early in the South African innings as he dismissed Markram through a superb length ball that clicked his pads.
Markram was given LBW after scoring only 7 runs.
The South African skipper, Dean Elgar, and Petersen played fluently in the end and made sure that they doesn’t lose any more wickets before the end of play on day 1.