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India were placed at 37/1 when bad light brought an early conclusion to Day 1's play in the first Test against South Africa. India rode on Jasprit Bumrah's bowling artistry to bowl out South Africa for a lowly 159. And when the players left the field, India had reached a score of 37/1 in their first innings after losing Yashasvi Jaiswal cheaply at 12. Washington Sundar (6* off 38) and KL Rahul (13* off 59) remained unscathed on the crease, having successfully added 19 runs for the second wicket. This partnership was built over a very cautious 78 deliveries. India still trails South Africa's first innings total of 159 by 122 runs heading into the second day.
Earlier, India's pace spearhead Bumrah delivered a stellar performance, claiming a five-wicket haul to help bowl out South Africa for just 159. Bumrah finished with figures of 5/27, dismissing key batsmen including the openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickleton, along with Ton de Zorzi, Simon Harmer, and Keshav Maharaj. Supporting Bumrah, the remaining five wickets were shared among the other bowlers: pace bowler Mohammed Siraj (2/47), and the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav (2/36) and Axar Patel (1/21).
It was a disappointing batting display by the visiting side, particularly after winning the toss. Wiaan Mulder and de Zorzi were the joint top scorers for South Africa. Although Mohammed Siraj conceded 34 runs in his initial six overs, he toiled relentlessly and eventually broke open the lower middle order with a brilliant double-wicket burst in his 10th over. He removed Kyle Verreynne and Marco Jansen within the space of just four balls. Verreynne (16), who had already been dropped twice in the 34th over, was dismissed after the ball struck his pad and then bat as he attempted to defend towards mid-off, forcing South Africa to use and burn their final review of the innings. Jansen (0) then received a short ball, followed by a masterful length delivery from Siraj that began to reverse-swing, pitched around off-stump, darted back sharply, and found its way through his gate.
The second session had started with Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah continuing their pressure from the first session. The left-arm spinner consistently asked tough questions with his drift, dip, and variations in length, keeping the South African batters under constant scrutiny. After the early losses of Temba Bavuma and the openers, Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi attempted to steady the innings with circumspect batting. Mulder showed application for more than 50 balls and looked compact against India’s four-pronged spin attack, but he lost focus 15 minutes into the second session. He was trapped leg before wicket (LBW) when he missed a reverse sweep against Kuldeep Yadav. Just before the Tea interval, Axar Patel opened his account by trapping Corbin Bosch (3) LBW, suddenly positioning India to potentially bat on the opening day itself, despite Shubman Gill having lost yet another toss.
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