India let it slip after rousing start: Talking points from day one of first Test

After weeks and weeks of building up to the action, India and South Africa served up a memorable day of Test cricket that lived up to the pre-series billing. Having lost the toss, Virat Kohli would have happily taken a 286 all-out scoreline at the end of the hosts’ innings but South Africa fought back impressively throughout the day. And in the end, the momentum was completely taken away from Kohli’s men as the top order was sent packing during an 11-over phase.

Here are the key talking points from day one:

Riveting first session

It was a riveting session of Test cricket to kick start this series.After being asked to bowl first, Bhuvneshwar Kumar handed India a fantastic start with some quality swing bowling. He blew away the South African top-order as they were left reeling at 12/3.

He took the responsibility of being a spearhead and gave India a confidence-boosting start at the start of what is bound to be a long and testing tour.

Not only did he use swing to good effect, he read the batsmen. The wickets came thanks to a sound use of line and length by the 27-year-old. On middle and off and moving away just enough to force the batsmen to offer a shot and not just leave it to the keeper.

However, the end of his first spell coincided with the start of the South Africa’s recovery led by senior batsmen AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis. Their 114-run stand brought the hosts back into the game. Kohli will rue the missed opportunity to snuff the fight out of the South African batting line up.

Bumrah on debut, got some swing early on, but couldn’t put the batsmen in much trouble. Same for Shami who strayed all around the wicket. Kohli also missed a few tricks by not bringing Ashwin into the mix. A couple overs of spin could have helped draw batsmen out of their comfort zone. South Africa, though, have a lot of work still left to do. A wicket early in the second session could hand India the momentum back.”

The ABD Show

When AB de Villiers walked in to bat, South Africa were 7/2. Five runs later, they lost one of their batting mainstays, Hashim Amla, too. And ABD responded in the manner the very best batsmen do – he counterattacked. It was perhaps apt that he got to his fifty with a classy four. It took him just 55 balls and included 10 fours.

Bhuvneshwar was bowling superbly initially and de Villiers decided that the only way to get his team back into the match was to somehow force the Indian seamer to change his line and length. He went with his gut and even hit Bhuvneshwar for 4 fours in the latter’s fifth over.

When AB decided to make himself available for Test cricket again, South Africa heaved a huge sigh of relief. This innings showed just why they so desperately wanted him back

Gambler’s luck?

During the second session, it has to be said the selection gamble had worked for Kohli. The decision to bring Bumrah ahead of established names surprised many but after an indifferent start to the game, Bumrah found his bearings in the post-lunch session. Kohli chose to start the session with Bumrah and Pandya – showing just how much confidence he had in them.

Bumrah kept it outside the off-stump and was generally more accurate. This led to AB de Villiers going for a big shot and leaving a huge gap between bat and pad. The inside edge did the rest. The wicket came against the run of play but it was just the thing India needed.

At the other end, Pandya settled into a good line and length. He hit the deck hard, got some movement and got something extra from the wicket when he bent his back. For a man who hasn’t played too much Test cricket, Pandya seemed to know how to do the right thing.

The umpire’s call on DRS saved Faf du Plessis once, much to Kohli’s disappointment but then Pandya got his man by inducing a false shot outside the off-stump. It meant that India were into the South Africa tail early in the day.

Data check

India’s slip catching and propensity to let opposition’s tail wag is coming back to haunt them. Keshav Maharaj was on 0 when Shikhar Dhawan dropped him, and he ended up making a plucky 35 off 47 balls.

According to a Cricket Monthly article, Indian fielders had missed over 27 per cent of their chances – the fourth worst among all Test playing nations. It has not improved in the recent past either.

Closing notes

So, it ended almost as it began - the top three batsman dismissed in no time. It didn’t take long for India to realise that they aren’t playing at home anymore. Murali Vijay, Dhawan and Kohli are already back in the dressing room. Philander got Vijay to nibble outside the off-stump, Dhawan played a typically bad shot against Steyn and Kohli was done in by a snorter from Morkel. Three wickets, three different fast bowlers and still no weakness to exploit. India’s problem in this innings and this tour is going to be that South Africa’s bowling attack has no real weakness.

Still, South Africa are also the inspiration here. They recovered from 12-3 in the morning session to post 286. India will hope that – at the bare minimum – they can do the same too.