Rahul, Sundar navigate tricky phase of play after Bumrahs fiery fifer sets tone for India
India made the effort and the first day of play count as the hosts ended up Day 1 of the first Test match against South Africa at Eden Gardens on a high.
New Delhi: India made the effort and the first day of play count as the hosts ended up Day 1 of the first Test match against South Africa at Eden Gardens on a high. After pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah gave the hosts a reason to smile with his 16th Test fifer, KL Rahul and Washington Sundar held the fort navigating a tricky phase of play after Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismisal.
Bowlers led by Bumrah showcased an absolute exhibition to bundle out South Africa for just 159 runs after the visitors opted to bat first. In reply, India carefully scored 37 runs losing one wicket in the 20 overs of play, which were not easy. Jaiswal and Rahul started off the proceedings for India on a confident note but the young southpaw was deceived on a score of 12 on the delivery off Marco Jansen.
After suffering the first blow at a score of 18 runs, Rahul and Sundar did exactly what they were expected to. On a pitch which was behaving in a tricky manner, both the Indian players navigated the South Africa bowling carefully to see off the day. When stumps were called by the umpires, Rahul was batting on 13 off 59 while Sundar was unbeaten on 6 off 38, playing a trademark Test cricket.
Bumrah lights up Eden
Earlier in the innings, Indian bowlers wrecked havoc on the South African batters after the opening pair of Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram stitched a 57-runs stand initially. While Bumrah did the bulk of the destruction by picking a five-wicket haul and joining the elite list of Indian bowlers, paceman Mohammed Siraj also made an impact by claiming two wickets.
Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav came into play and showcased his class by claiming two wickets while Axar Patel also made use of the opportunity picking up a lone scalp. For the visiting side, Markram was the highest scorer with 31 runs while Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi scored 24 runs each. Rickelton also scored 23 runs to push South Africa's scored over 150.
Meanwhile, India would like to make the most of the second day on Saturday and pile up a huge first innings lead to extend their dominance in the series opener.