SA vs Ind, 1st Test: South Africa restrict India to 28-3 at stumps on Day 1

Cape Town: South Africa bounced back on Day 1 of the first Test match against India here on Friday, as they restricted the visitors to 28-3 at stumps.

Earlier, South Africa had won the toss and had elected to bat. However, the Indian bowlers dominated the Proteas’ innings as they were bowled out for 286.

The hosts were right back in the game during India’s innings, as they removed openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, thanks to wickets from Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn respectively.

The huge breakthrough for Faf du Plessis’ men came when Morne Morkel removed captain Virat Kohli, which put them back on track.

Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara are the current batsmen at crease, and will hope to fight back when they return to play on Saturday for the second day of the Test match.

India 18-2 from 5.2 overs

WICKET! Shikhar Dhawan departs for 16 runs, as India have lost their second wicket. Dale Steyn does a fantastic job there, as he takes a good catch from his bowling to dismiss the opener.

India 16-1 from 4.4 overs

WICKET!Vernon Philander provides South Africa the breakthrough, as he removes Murali Vijay for just one run. Huge blow for Team India.

South Africa innings

Cape Town: South Africa were bowled out for 286 by Virat Kohli’s India on Day one of the first Test between the two teams here, as the visitors got off to a strong start.

It was the hosts who elected to bat after winning the toss, but nothing much went in their favour.

In the first five overs, they lost openers Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram, which was followed by Hashim Amla’s wicket.

For the hosts, the only takeaway was a 114-run stand between AB de Villiers and captain Faf du Plessis.

All the bowlers contributed wickets for India. While Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up four wickets, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya ended up taking one wicket each. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin, too contributed with a couple of wickets.

South Africa 258-8 from 62.2 overs

WICKET! Keshav Maharaj has departed for 35 as Ashwin has run him out. Nothing is going right for the Proteas.

South Africa 252-7 from 59 overs

Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj have taken the hosts past 250. The duo will hope to continue this run and reach towards the 300-run mark.

Tea break report

It was a session which belonged to Virat Kohli’s men as they took four more wickets in the second session, as they restricted hosts South Africa to 230-7.

The major highlight of the session was the 114-run partnership between AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis after which the former departed for 65. De Villiers was Jasprit Bumrah’s first Test match victim, as the India pacer got his maiden wicket in the longest format.

Captain du Plessis was the next to depart, as he too contributed 62 runs.However, Quinton de Kock’s innings was short-lived, as he was dismissed by Bhuvneshwar for 43.

Worries continued for the Proteas as Vernon Philander departed for 23. With Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada currently batting, the duo will hope to take the hosts to a respectable total in the post-tea session.

Tea:

South Africa are currently 7 wickets down after being left in a spot of bother early on at 12-3 by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. A century stand between AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis got the home side out of trouble before Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya got rid of the settled duo. De Kock and Philander steered the innings with a quickfire 50-run stand, but that did not last long as both the batsmen also departed.

South Africa 250-3 after 37 overs:

BOWLED HIM! Peach of a delivery by Shami that sees Philander's bails whip off. The batsman aims for a drive down the wicket, but gets a huge gap between bat and pad. Shami says you miss, I hit.

South Africa 202-6 after 45 overs:

WICKET! End of a fine knock as Quinton de Kock nicks one straight to Saha off the delivery by Bhuvneshwar round the wicket. A faint edge and the batsman thinks about the review before making his way back to the pavilion.

South Africa 196-5 after 44 overs:

Good recovery from the Proteas! De Kock and Philander have raced off to a 50-run partnership in just 39 deliveries after the hosts losts two settled batsmen in the form of de Villiers and du Plessis. Despite losing wickets, South Africa have shown that they have prepared well to counter-attack the Indian bowling.

South Africa 142-5 after 36 overs:

WICKET! And it's the big fish Faf du Plessis. Moments after failing a LBW review, Pandya finally takes out the South Africa skipper. Delivery outside off and du Plessis slashes hard at it, only to give Saha an easy catch behind the stumps.

South Africa 136-4 after 34 overs:

BOWLED HIM! Through the gates of AB de Villiers and Bumrah scalps his first Test wicket. A fullish length delivery bowled around off stump rattles the stumps after De Villiers misses his drive. Has the game opened up now?

As the second session of the Cape Town Test approaches on Day 1, both the sides will aim to pile the pressure on each other. After striking 3 early wickets, Virat Kohli's men will aim to break the partnership between AB de Villiers and Faf Du Plessis which has brought the home team back in the game. Having settled well, the duo will be eyeing something around 250-300.

Lunch:

South Africa batsmen AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis took the hosts back on track on Day one of the first Test against India here on Friday, as they headed for the lunch break at 107-3.

After winning the toss, du Plessis decided that they will bat first. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the Indian bowlers as he took all the three wickets of Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram and Hashim Amla.

Following Amla’s wicket, de Villiers and captain du Plessis ensured that the Proteas were back in the game. During the course, de Villiers got to his 41st Test fifty.

South Africa 107-3 after 26 overs:

100 comes up for South Africa! Du Plessis and de Villiers have steered the home side to safe waters after Bhuvneshwar Kumar left them reeling at 12-3. De Villiers has been the destructor-in-chief and has also allowed du Plessis his own freedom to play his natural game. India is currently running out of ideas, can they bounce back?

South Africa 55-3 after 15 overs:

Fifty up between Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers and it has not come easy. Faf du Plessis and de Villiers have steadied the team's ship after the early shock, but the team needs more from them. De Villiers has been smacking boundaries for fun while the Proteas skipper is happy to play second fiddle.

India, meanwhile, are extracting a lot from the pitch. Bumrah is getting a lot of assistance with the incoming delivery. But this session has belonged to Bhuvi.

India have struck early on by getting rid of Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram and Hashim Amla early on. Two experienced campaigners, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis will aim to soak the pressure after the early blows.

South Africa 13-3 after 5 overs:

WICKET! India get the big fish and it's a third one for Bhuvneshwar in just his 3rd over. Pitched on a good length and Amla looks to punch it off the back foot. Slashes at the delivery and gives Saha an easy catch behind the stumps. India on a roll and dejected faces in the South Africa dugout.

South Africa 7-2 after 3 overs:

WICKET! Up goes the finger and Markram has to make his way to the pavilion. Bhuvneshwar bowls a tight one, that nips back in. Markram is in two minds about his shot and gets hit below the knee roll. Captain Kohli is delighted with the wicket.

South Africa 0-1 after 1 over:

WICKET! How much time did that take? Smart piece bowling by Bhuvneshwar to get India the first breakthrough. Sets the first two deliveries on the leg side and forces the southpaw to play at it on the third. The ball nips away and gets the outside edge.

An exciting contest on offer as Virat Kohli's India lock horns with South Africa. Kohli and Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis have taken bold choices with the first XI. The home side have opted to go with a four-man pace attack, leaving onus on the batsmen. Kohli has also made a bold pick by roping in Hardik Pandya in place of vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane.

Team news:

Here's how both the teams line-up for the Cape Town Test -

Toss:

Out of the 14 matches that have taken place in Cape Town, only three matches have been won by the team who won the toss and elected to bat since 2001. Du Plessis however feels that stats don't matter.

"The wicket is a lot slower on day one, it does move around a little bit, but it is definitely slower and then it quickens up and obviously a nice seam attack likes a bit of extra pace. It will get better to bat on as the day wears on. I don't look too much into stats. The conditions have changed over the last two years," the South Africa skipper.

South Africa have won the toss and opted to bat.

Virat Kohli on Jasprit Bumrah's selection: "He has come a long way and he has done really well in the limited overs cricket. He is bowling a really heavy ball and he has been the most impressive seamer here in our preparations. We are very excited to have him start his Test career today and wish him all the best. "

Big news coming in from Newlands is that India's limited-over specialist Jasprit Bumrah has been handed his Test debut.

The two teams will be playing for this:

Preview:

India’s 2018 tour of South Africa begins today with both the teams squaring off in the first contest of the three-match series at Cape Town on Friday. Two teams, both leading the charts for the ICC Test rankings have a lot to offer in the coming series.

The last time the two nations faced each other was back in 2015 when the Proteas toured India and eventually went on to lose the Test series. AB de Villiers’ side were denied the no.1 Test rankings and will be aiming to settle a score with the visitors right away.

Virat Kohli’s India, on the other hand, looks to shed the tag of ‘poor travellers’ having won nine Test series in a row, equalling the record previously held by Australia. However, they are yet to win a Test series in South Africa and the alien conditions will test their true potential.

The current Indian side looks equipped to break the streak with a good balance in the squad. Particularly, the bowling attack has a lot bite to offer and has the ability to scalp all 20 wickets in a match.

India is also fortunate to be presented with an opportunity to start the series on a confident note. The Newlands green top has favourable batting and bowling conditions that could see any side pull this through.

What also is to be noted that the home side has the upper hand with the return of key players from their squad. AB de Villiers returns after a two-year absence from first-class cricket, while the bowling attack will witness the comeback of Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander.

Since 1992, the visitors have won only two out of 17 Test matches played on South African soil – one under Rahul Dravid in 2006-07 and the other under the mantle of former India skipper MS Dhoni in 2010-11. Can they pull it off this time?

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