India versus South Africa 3rd Test 1st Day: Match hangs in the balance

-

 The first day of the 3rd Test match saw both teams fighting on a tough condition for batting played at Newlands, Cape Town on Tuesday.

Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal survived a few anxious moments against Kagiso Rabada and Oliver. Keegan Petersen dropped a tough chance to get rid of Mayank Agarwal. Despite a few balls going past the edge, Agarwal and KL Rahul put the bad deliveries away for boundaries. Oliver made an important breakthrough in getting rid of KL Rahul. The Indian openers added 31 runs to lay a strong foundation. Rabada struck in the very next over getting the wicket of Mayank Agarwal with a lovely catch by Dean Elgar to leave India struggling.

After the initial spell by Rabada and Oliver, Elgar bought Ngidi and Jansen into the bowling attack. Virat Kohli faced some top quality by the South African bowlers. On other hand, Cheteshwar Pujara kept hitting bad balls away for boundaries. Kohli hit a lovely shot to get off the mark. Pujara looked to score runs keeping the scoreboard ticking. India went into the lunch break at 75 for 2.

Pujara and Kohli began the second session on a cautious note keeping good deliveries away and hitting bad balls for runs. Marco Jansen came from around the wicket dismissing Pujara with a beauty giving a simple catch to Verryne. Pujara and Kohli added 62 runs for the 3rd wicket. Kagiso Rabada kept nagging with good lines beating his edges. Ajiyanka Rahane’s poor form continued being dismissed by Kagiso Rabada to leave India struggling. Kohli was looking good taking on Rabada while Pant left good deliveries away.

Kohli survived a close caught behind as he was given not out but on review, the decision remained not out due to the ball hitting the thigh pad. Kohli and Pant kept top-quality South African bowling away to end the 2nd session at 141 for 4.

The third session began off well for India with Kohli and Pant showing intent to score runs. Marco Jansen struck getting the wicket of Pant caught by Petersen. Pant and Kohli added 51 runs for the 5th wicket. Jansen got another big scalp dismissing Ravichandran Ashwin to leave India struggling. Kohli looked solid enough to reach his fifty off 158 balls. Thakur enjoyed himself with lovely shots before trying another big shot caught by Petersen. Kohli and Thakur added 30 runs for the 7th wicket. Kohli took the attack to South African bowlers hitting brilliant boundaries. He was eventually caught by Verryne for a well-made 79. Ngidi finished off the innings by getting rid of Shami to bowl out India for 223 runs.

Bumrah and Umesh Yadav troubled the South African openers going past the edge. Bumrah produced a big wicket getting rid of captain Elgar with a lovely catch by Pujara. Shami was introduced into the attack and troubled South African batters. Keshav Maharaj coming as nightwatchman survived a few anxious moments before South Africa ended day 1 at 17 for 1.

South Africa 17 for 1 in 8 overs ( Markram 8*, Maharaj 6*, Bumrah 1/0) trail India 223 in 77.3 overs ( Kohli 79, Pujara 43, Rabada 4/73, Jansen 3/55) by 206 runs.

 







Kohli 79 on a gripping first day of 3rd Test 


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Malaysia Open 2025 Day 3: Disappointing Outing For Indian Shuttlers

-
Image
  The Indian shuttlers had a disappointing outing as only one of them made it into the quarterfinals of the Super 1000 Malaysia Open 2025 played at Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur on 9 th January. HS Prannoy, women’s doubles pair of Tressa Jolly suffered narrow losses while Bansod, mixed doubles pair of Crasto/Kapila, and other pair lost in a one-sided affair. Tressa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand suffered a heartbreaking loss to Jia Ya Fan and Zhang of China in three thrilling games. The Indian pair struggled in the initial phases of the first game trailing by 3-6 before taking 7 points in succession to put the pressure back on the Chinese pair. At the mid-game interval, the Indians had an 11-7 lead. After the break, Jolly and Gopichand showed domination with smashes and drop shots keeping consistent pressure on the Chinese pair before winning the first game at 21-15. The second game began well with Jolly and Gopichand taking a decent lead in the initial phases. Ji and Zhang showed g...
Read more

Asia Champions Trophy 2024: India Enters Finals With Commanding Win

-
Image
  The defending Champions India registered a commanding win in the 2 nd semi-finals against South Korea of the Asian Champions Trophy 2024 played in Hulunbir, Inner Mongolia on 16 th September. Indian team began the first quarter on a good note with Abhishek's reverse flick shot saved by Korean goalkeeper Kim Jahean. After the initial domination, a superb pass by Arijit with a goal by Uttam Singh in the 13 th minute to give India a 1-0 lead. Soon after, Korea’s two penalty corners before the third penalty corner as the shot hits Sumit’s body.   At the end of the first quarter, India led 1-0. The second quarter began off superbly for the Indian team as they put pressure on the Korean defense. Harmanpreet Singh converted the second penalty corner in the 19 th minute to double the lead. Both teams tried to put pressure on each other’s defense, but did not yield any results. At the end of the first half, India led 2-0. India dominated the first half with 61% as compared to...
Read more

ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8: England Qualify For Semi-Finals With Thrashing Of USA

-
Image
  The defending Champions England qualified for the semi-finals with a thrashing of the USA in a must-win game played at Kensington Oval, Barbados on 23 rd June 2024. England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and decided to field first. Reece Topley struck in the first over dismissing Andries Gous with a simple catch to Salt. Nitish Kumar and Steve Taylor steadied the ship for the USA. Sam Curran dismissed Steve Taylor caught by Moeen Ali. Taylor and Nitish Kumar added 34 runs for the 2 nd wicket. It was a disciplined bowling effort by the England bowlers as they kept picking wickets at regular intervals. Sam Curran struck to dismiss Harmeet Singh. Chris Jordan became the first England bowler to grab a hat trick in the T20I format. Jordan dismissed Corey Anderson, Ali Khan, and Kenjige. He then got rid of Saurabh Netravalkar to bowl out USA for 115 in 18.5 overs. It was a superb bowling performance by England bowlers. Chris Jordan picked 4 for 10, Adil Rashid and Sam Curran to...
Read more