The weather here is mirroring cricket. Even Nostradamus may struggle to predict how it would go.
The forecast had been grim going into the first Test at the SuperSport Park, after a Christmas day that saw virtually incessant rain. But after a delayed a start on Tuesday, under clouds that didn’t look too menacing, the sky turned blue, much to the delight of an excellent holiday crowd.
What followed was some absorbing cricket on day one of a much-anticipated series between South Africa and India. But late in the afternoon, the skies opened up and covers had to be brought in.
The umpires had no option but to call an early end to the day, at the end of which, India, after being put in, was 208 for eight. The score would have been a lot worse but for a superb innings by K.L. Rahul, who seems to love this beautiful venue; he had scored a brilliant hundred in 2021-22, opening the innings, which helped India score a memorable win.
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The elegant batter from Karnataka, who also will have to don the keeping gloves, was batting on 70 (105b, 10x4, 2x6). He had come it 92 for four and his grit, determination and skills, and some spirited support from Shardul Thakur (24) ensured that the Indian innings didn’t fold up too quickly against a formidable South African pace attack spearheaded by Kagiso Rabada.
Shardul, who has also in the past proved his worth lower down the order – remember the great Gabba Test – and Rahul put on 43 valuable runs after R. Ashwin, who made his way into the eleven after Ravindra Jadeja complained of upper back spasms, became the fourth victim of Rabada.
The magnificent quick completed a well-deserved five-wicket haul when he had Shardul caught behind. He may not have got the preparation he wanted with the white ball because of the heel injury, but all that didn’t matter, as he took the new ball and settled into neat line.
India’s openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma looked prepared to play the waiting game, but the skipper had to make his way back to the dressing room in the fifth over of the day; his pull shot — among the best in the business — cost him dearly, as he was caught by debutant seamer Nandre Burger at fine-leg.
The day then got even better for Burger, as he induced an outside edge from Jaiswal, who had shown glimpses of his ability to play pleasing strokes during his 37-ball stay, and then had Shubman Gill caught behind on review.
Virat Kohli (38, 64b, 5x4) and Shreyas Iyer (31, 50b, 3x4, 1x6) then did the repairing job, putting on 68 for the fourth wicket, after both had been dropped. Rabada accounted for both of them, cleaning up Shreyas with a ball that nipped back sharply and then had Kohli edging one that moved away beautifully. It was great stuff from the Proteas spearhead.
Now, it was up to Rahul to weather the storm. He did that superbly.
His Karnataka teammate Prasidh Krishna is making his Test debut.
Brief Scores:
India (1st innings): Yashasvi Jaiswal c Verreynne b Burger 17 Rohit Sharma (c) c Burger b Rabada 5 Shubman Gill c Verreynne b Burger 2 Virat Kohli c Verreynne b Rabada 38 Shreyas Iyer b Rabada 31 KL Rahul batting 70 Ravichandran Ashwin c sub (Mulder) b Rabada 8 Shardul Thakur c Elgar b Rabada 24 Jasprit Bumrah b Jansen 1 Mohammed Siraj batting 0 Extras: (B-1, LB-8, NB-1, W-2) 12 Total: (In 59 overs for 8 wickets) 208 Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-23, 3-24, 4-92, 5-107, 6-121, 7-164, 8-191.
Bowling: Kagiso Rabada 17-3-44-5, Marco Jansen 15-1-52-1, Nandre Burger 15-4-50-2, Gerald Coetzee 12-1-53-0.
Teams:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.
South Africa: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma(c), Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada and Nandre Burger.
