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Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli turned out to be the lone warrior on Day 1 of the Cape Town Test as the visitors were bundled out for 223. Kohli was the ninth wicket to fall before he scored 79 runs off 201 deliveries including 10 fours and one six. The 33-year-old missed out on a century again as the drought of three figures extends to 780 days.
After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Indian opening pair disappointed as they could put only 31 runs on the scoreboard. Vice-captain KL Rahul scored 12 whereas Mayank Agarwal scored 15 off 35 deliveries each. After the two quick wickets, Cheteshwar Pujara came out with an attacking instinct while Kohli was cautious at the start scoring at a much slower strike rate than usual.
Kohli and Pujara steadied the ship with the 62-run third-wicket partnership which was broken by Marco Jansen. Pujara missed out on his second half-century of the series as he scored 43 runs off 77 deliveries including seven boundaries. After Pujara’s wicket, Ajinkya Rahane looked solid with two boundaries but his innings was cut-short by Kagiso Rabada. Rahane used DRS but the ultraedge showed a clear spike when the ball passed the bat.
Rishabh Pant came to the crease and was cautious after the rash shot to lose his wicket in the Johannesburg Test. Pant scored 27 runs in the 51-run partnership for the fifth wicket. After Pant's wicket, India’s lower-middle order did not make an impact and the tail did not wag either. Kohli was left stranded on the non-striker’s end which eventually forced a loose shot to lose his wicket to Rabada in the 73rd over.
For South Africa, Rabada was the prime wicket-taker with four wickets to his name. Jansen scalped three wickets whereas Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj took one wicket each.
Bumrah roars with new ball
The hero of Johannesburg win, Proteas skipper Dean Elgar lost his wicket to Jasprit Bumrah as he edged one to slip fielder Pujara. Elgar scored just three runs from 16 deliveries. Maharaj joined opener Aiden Markram at the crease as nightwatchman. Maharaj got injured and got some medical attention on the field. The nightwatchman endured the new ball and scored six runs from 12 deliveries. Bumrah was exceptional with the new ball and he bowled four consecutive maidens. The hosts finished Day 1 with 17/1 after eight overs, trailing by 206 runs.
