IND vs SA, 2nd Test, Day 1: Bumrah strikes as South Africa lose Markram at stroke of Tea after strong start

Jasprit Bumrah struck in the final over before Tea to help India get their first breakthrough in South Africa's first innings of the ongoing second Test between the two sides at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday. Bumrah cleaned up Markram on 38 in the 27th over of the Proteas' first innings to help the hosts draw first blood in the game. South Africa headed into Tea at 82/1 after a strong start.

After a terrific start from openers Markram and Ryan Rickelton, South Africa seemed to be heading into the break without losing a wicket. However, captain Rishabh Pant's decision to hand the final over to Bumrah before Tea worked in India's favour as the fast bowler produced a moment of magic to shift the momentum in the hosts' favour.

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He broke the 82-run opening stand by rattling Markram's stumps with a ripper, much to the delight of his teammates and the Indian supporters present at the stadium. Bumrah had earlier created an opportunity early in the first session, when he managed to induce an edge of Markram's bat. However, KL Rahul failed to grab the catch.

Bumrah managed to get his man in the final over of the session, but the session belonged to South Africa after the openers combined to share a brilliant stand for the first wicket. Rickelton and Markram looked composed in the middle and did well against both pacers and the spinners to help South Africa head to Tea on top.

While Markram scored 38 off 81 balls, Rickelton remained unbeaten on 35 off 80 balls to help South Africa post 82/1 at Tea on Day 1 of the second Test. Rickelton will be joined by no.3 Tristan Stubbs when the Proteas resume their innings post Tea. With the surface doing little for the bowlers, India will hope to reassess their plans in the break and return with more vigour as they look to take more wickets.

Many would have been left surprised by Tea being taken before Lunch on Day 1 of the ongoing second Test between India and South Africa in Guwahati. Usually, in Test matches, the first break taken after the first session is meant for Lunch. However, in Guwahati, Tea was taken first due to early sunrise and sunset in Assam and the northeast region of India.

Notably, the Test match started half an hour earlier than the usual 9:30 AM IST timing to ensure the day's play finishes by 4 PM, due to the early sunrise and sunset. Although an extension of half an hour till 4:30 is allowed, the match is unlikely to continue beyond 4 due to fading light early in the evening.

Thus, the Test match got underway at 9:00 AM IST after the toss at 8:30 AM IST on Saturday. The first session ended at 11:00 AM IST, after which Tea was taken as it would have been too early for the players to get lunch. Lunch break would be taken after the end of the session at 1:20 PM. The lunch break will be of 40 minutes, following which the final session will be played from 2 PM to 4 PM IST.