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The Newlands, Cape Town turned out to be a bowling paradise as 23 wickets fell on Day 1 of the Test. Only seven batters managed to score in double digits as fast bowlers ran riot on a pitch that had both, excess and lack of bounce enough to keep batters guessing. Even though South Africa trail by 36 runs after getting bowled out for 55 in the first innings, the game still hangs in balance after India's monumental batting collapse which saw six wickets falling for no run.
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In the absence of an injured Temba Bavuma, Dean Elgar in his farewell Test donned the captaincy hat and chose to bat first. Mohammed Siraj struck in his second over to dismiss Aiden Markram. In his next over, Elgar dragged the ball onto his stumps. Jasprit Bumrah joined him in the ninth over as Tristan Stubbs fell to him. Siraj then dismissed Tony de Zorzi to make jaws drop in the crowd. After the drinks break, Siraj struck twice in one over to dismiss David Bedingham and Marco Jansen to complete his fifer.
In his next over, he got the wicket of Kyle Verreynne who scored 15 runs from 30 balls. Mukesh Kumar was introduced into the attack and he delivered with Keshav Maharaj's wicket. Bumrah and Mukesh took one wicket each to bundle out South Africa for 55, their lowest score in the format since readmission. Siraj became the second Indian bowler to take a fifer on Day 1 of the Test before lunch. This was the lowest all-out total against India in Test cricket.
Skipper Rohit got off to a good start by hitting Lungi Ngidi for three boundaries in an over. Kagiso Rabada struck in his second over to dismiss Yashasvi Jaiswal for a duck. Rohit did not let his guard down after Jaiswal’s wicket as he looked for boundaries. But Burger managed to get the better of Rohit with the help of extra bounce. He scored 39 runs from 50 balls including seven fours. Virat Kohli got off the mark with two consecutive boundaries in the same over. Shubman Gill was looking comfortable as well but fell to Burger after scoring 36 runs from 55 balls.
Shreyas Iyer failed to make a mark and got out for a two-ball duck to Burger. After the tea break, KL Rahul took his time whereas Rabada smashed Rabada for a maximum. Rahul took 22 balls to get off the mark. In the 34th over, Ngidi got the better of Rahul with extra bounce. After Rahul's poor shot selection, Ravindra Jadeja had no clue either and got out for a two-ball duck. Ngidi continued to use the extra bounce to the best effect and dismissed Jasprit Bumrah for a two-ball duck.
With wickets falling at the other end, Kohli felt an urgency to score but fell to Rabada. He scored 46 runs from 59 balls including six fours and a six. Then Siraj was run out as he went for a non-existent single. Rabada wrapped up the proceedings with the wicket of Prasidh Krishna. India went from 153/4 to 153 all-out. South Africa pacers managed to restrict the visitors’ lead to 98 runs.
Markram made his intentions clear straightaway. He decided to go on offense and scored boundaries. It was Mukesh who broke the opening partnership with the wicket of Elgar. In his final international knock, he scored 12 runs from 28 balls. In his next over, Mukesh got the better of De Zorzi. Bumrah in his sixth over bamboozled Stubbs. But Markram was in no mood to go on the back foot. He scored two boundaries in the final over of the day. South Africa were 62/3 at Stumps, only 36 runs behind.
As many as 23 wickets fell on Day 1, the most in a day on South African soil. Also, it is the most on Day 1 of a Test. 25 wickets fell in the 1902 Ashes clash between Australia and England in Melbourne.
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