If the Centurion Test was a quick finish, the Cape Town encounter looks primed for a much shorter span as India took control of the opening day which saw 23 wickets fall on a mean and spicy pitch. Mohammed Siraj’s sensational spell of seam bowling (6-15) was the clear showstopper as the pacer picked all his wickets in his opening nine-over burst to send South Africa crashing to 55 all out in the opening session.

Dean Elgar opted to bat, perhaps expecting to surface to worsen as the game went on, but things couldn’t have been more disastrous for his side from the get-go. Siraj began with a beauty to dismantle Aiden Markram before getting Elgar to chop one on to the stumps. With extravagant seam movement and variable bounce on offer, batting was a lottery whenever the pacers hit the right lengths. Unfortunately for South Africa, the frequency of India’s bowlers led by Siraj getting it right was far too often and the hosts had no answers. Only two batters got to double figures in what was a sorry batting display from the Proteas. Siraj was unplayable for most parts.

With the pitch playing all sorts of tricks, India sensed the need to bat with high intent, given that survival was a game of chance. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill both got away to quick starts after Yashasvi Jaiswal’s early dismissal but neither batter could go on to bigger things. Or perhaps, that was just the nature of the pitch as it was the kind of track where a batter could never feel set at the crease.

Virat Kohli started off in streaky fashion but soon found his groove with some noteworthy shots with a ravishing pull against Kagiso Rabada being the pick of the lot. While the scoring rate was good, South Africa stayed in the hunt during the second session thanks to Nandre Burger who bowled his heart out to strike thrice. Those breakthroughs ensured that India weren’t running away with the game. However, the most freak phase of the day was yet to come.

At the end of 33 overs, India were 153/4 with Kohli set and KL Rahul trying to dig in. The lead was inching towards 100 and on this pitch, it was a position of immense strength. Just 11 deliveries later, India were bowled out without a single run added thereafter. It was the most unreal passages of play you’d see and it started with Lungi Ngidi’s triple-wicket maiden.

The pacer had bowled way below his best for a major part of the innings but sprung to life with a magical spell (3-30) to stun India. Kagiso Rabada (3-38) followed it up in the next over to send India packing for 153. Both pacers pounded away on that hard length and got extra bounce to leave India’s batters in strife. Even with the incredible nature of South Africa’s first innings performance, this implosion from India was astounding.

Nevertheless, the lead of 98 meant a mountain to climb for South Africa on this increasingly challenging deck. Elgar and Markram started off steadily but the former’s dismissal allowed India to add a couple more strikes late in the day. Mukesh Kumar excelled for the visitors while Jasprit Bumrah was his usual menacing self.

With a deficit of 36 runs and seven wickets left, South Africa will hope for a stronger effort from the remaining batters. Four full days remain and it’ll be interesting to see if the game will stretch into day three.

Brief scores:
South Africa 55 in 23.2 overs (Kyle Verreynne 15; Mohammed Siraj 6-15, Jasprit Bumrah 2-25, Mukesh Kumar 2-00) and 62/3 in 17 overs (Aiden Markram 36*; Mukesh Kumar 2-25) trail India 153 in 34.5 overs (Virat Kohli 46, Rohit Sharma 39, Shubman Gill 36; Lungi Ngidi 3-30, Kagiso Rabada 3-38, Nandre Burger 3-42) by 36 runs.