India toiled hard to break the South African defence on the second day of the first Test in Centurion. After KL Rahul‘s classy ton guided India to 245, wickets were hard to come by for the visitors. After Mohammed Siraj dismissed Aiden Markram early on, Dena Elgar and Tony de Zorzi struck a great stand. From 11/1 they took South Africa to 104 before the second wicket fell. Jasprit Bumrah got the wickets of de Zorzi and Keegan Petersen in quick succession.
One image that has gone viral on social media is that of Viral Kohli changing the bails in between overs. And two balls later, de Zorzi fell to Bumrah.
Two balls before the dismissal of Tony —- Virat Kohli changed the bails other way around and luck came with the wicket by a brilliant ball by Boom. pic.twitter.com/ld2MC92GS7
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 27, 2023
Virat Kohli checked the bails and changed it around.
– 2 balls later Bumrah got Tony De Zorzi. pic.twitter.com/3rTD86Jt0P
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 27, 2023
Stuart Broad Virat Kohli. pic.twitter.com/KR9LIna7wA
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 27, 2023
Earlier, KL Rahul’s 101-run knock powered India to 245 in their first inning, meanwhile South Africa lost Aiden Markram early at lunch on the second day of the first Test match in Centurion on Wednesday. At the end of the lunch, South Africa posted a total of 49/1, with Dean Elgar and Tony de Zorzi unbeaten, having a partnership of 44 runs.
India ended their inning at 245 after Rahul (101 runs from 137 balls) once again proved to be the ‘Man in Crisis’.
On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj made the first breakthrough for the visitors after he removed Aiden Markram (5 runs from 17 balls) in the initial overs of the Proteas’ inning.
India lost two quick wickets earlier on day two but Rahul managed to stand still in front of the Proteas pacers and completed his century after smashing two consecutive sixes against Kagiso Rabada.
Rabada’s five-wicket haul rattled India’s batting lineup. However, Rahul made crucial partnerships with the batters to keep the visitors in a decent place in the tricky conditions at SuperSport Park. He added 43 runs with Shardul Thakur, 27 with Jasprit Bumrah, and 47 with Mohammed Siraj.
With Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Shardul Thakur on the attack for India, the visitors are looking forward to getting more wickets in the upcoming sessions.
Recapping the first day of the Test match, rain played spoilsport as the majority of the third session was ruled out on Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa at the SuperSport Park.
At the end of Day 1, India scored a total of 208/8 in 59 overs with KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj unbeaten with respective scores of 70 (105)* and 0 (10)*.
KL Rahul fought valiantly throughout the time that he spent on the field. While the rest of the batters failed to overcome Kagiso Rabada, he fought with vigour to take India’s score past the 200-run mark. Siraj also showed patience during the 10 balls that he faced he faced.
The only casualty in the final session was Jasprit Bumrah, who lost his patience and ended up losing his wicket to Marco Jansen after playing 19 balls.
With ANI inputs
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