By: Tarish Bhatt
South Africa bowled extremely well to put India under pressure, but India struck back on a day that belonged to the bowlers, spinners in particular, in Mohali.
India, playing with three spinners, wanted to exploit the conditions, and initially they looked like doing so, when skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and batted, but they eventually tangled into their own web.
South Africa ripped through Indian batting, despite a gritty half-century from Murali Vijay, and fighting knock from Ravindra Jadeja, as the hosts were bundled for a paltry 201 in the Mohali Test.
A 42-run partnership for the eighth wicket saved India the blushes, otherwise the hosts would have been bundled for even a lesser score which they eventually managed to post.
Just like South African spinners, India too exploited the ever-deteriorating Mohali track, and struck back with two quick wickets in the final 20 overs of the day.
Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed opener Stiaan van Zyl, while Ravindra Jadeja got rid of Faf du Plessis. Third spinner Amit Mishra could have had Hashim Amla but he survived.
At stumps on Day 1, South Africa could only manage to score 28 runs, trailing by 173 runs, with eight wickets in hand, with Dean Elgar and Amla in the middle.
Earlier, after winning the toss, things didn’t go as the Indian captain Virat Kohli must have thought, as the hosts lost opener Shikhar Dhawan in only the second over of the match.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay started the recovery work, and they somewhat did it but Dean Elgar got rid of the former by outfoxing him on an arm-ball.
South Africa further strengthened their grip by dismissing skipper Virat Kohli, when Kagiso Rabada deceived him early in the innings.
The second session was no different, despite the Indian batsmen making slow progress, as South Africa continued their excellent bowling effort with Dean Elgar leading from the front.
Ajinkya Rahane was Elgar’s second prey, and the Proteas got another one shortly when he dismissed Wriddhiman Saha in his very next over. Amit Mishra also dismissed while playing a lofty shot.
India were lucky not to have lost Ravichandran Ashwin, as Kagiso Rabada bowled a no-ball, in which he trapped the lanky Indian right in front of the stumps.
For all latest updates on India vs South Africa follow Drcricket7.com
