3rd Test, Day 1: India witness another batting collapse against quality South Africa pace attack

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Johannesburg, Jan 24: India witnessed yet another batting collapse and were restricted to a paltry 187 in 76.4 overs on the first day of the third Test match against South Africa here on Wednesday (January 24).

Match Scorecard

Barring skipper Virat Kohli (54), Cheteshwar Pujara (50) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 49-ball 30 none of the Indian batsmen could stand in front of the hosts' quality pace attack.

The next best scorer for the visitors was extra as 26 runs came from them while rest of the Indian batsmen could together amass 27 runs. It was the first occasion when India were bundled out on the first day of a Test match in South Africa.

Kohli and Pujara was the only batting pair that offered some resistance to the hosts, with some luck coming in their favour.

It was another disciplined bowling effort from the hosts as their pacers kept the visiting side under pressure and kept picking up wickets at regular intervals.

Kagiso Rabada (3/39) was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts with able contributions from Morne Morkel (2/47), Vernon Philander (2/31) and Andile Phehlukwayo (2/25) front the other side. Young Lungi Ngidi, however, accounted for the biggest scalp of the day as he got dangerous looking Kohli dismissed for 54.

The batting conditions at the Wanderers were tough but the Indian batsmen, except for the resistance from Kohli and Pujara and a valuable contribution from Bhuvneshwar, failed to live up to the reputation.

The openers KL Rahul (0) and Murali Vijay (8) once again disappointed first up and left the team languishing at 12/2. But thanks to the two contrasting fifties from Kohli and Pujara brought the visitors back in the game. Together they stitched a partnership of 84 runs for the third wicket and recovered the team from the early losses.

If Kohli looked aggressive from the start, Pujara looked calm as he took 54 deliveries to get off the mark. The Saurashtra batsman spent more than 256 minutes on the crease before edging Phehlukwayo immediately after notching up his 17th Test fifty.

After Pujara and Kohli's dismissal rest of the Indian batsmen came, played some loose shots and gifted their wickets away. Comeback man Ajinkya Rahane too couldn't do much as he was trapped in front by Morkel for 8.

The team then pinned their hopes on Hardik Pandya but the all-rounder played a suicidal shot and threw his wicket away as he tried to pull the bowler. Pandya walked back without scoring.

However, Bhuvneshwar's small partnerships with tailenders Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah took the visitors to 187.

In response, the hosts ended the day's play at 6/1 from the 6 overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar accounted for the wicket of Aiden Markram for 2. Jasprit Bumrah was equally threatening from the other side but he couldn't get any success as Dean Elgar (4*) and night-watchman Kagiso Rabada (0*) were present at the crease when the umpires signalled the end of the day's play.

Earlier, India skipper Virat Kohli won his first toss on the tour and elected to bat first on a green batting surface in Johannesburg. But the skipper was once again let down by an ordinary batting effort from the teammates, who once again seemed to struggle against Proteas pace and bounce.

Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin have been dropped from the squad while Ajinkya Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have been brought back to the side. India went with a full pace attack as the pitch at Wanderers hardly has anything to offer for the spinners.

The hosts made just a change to their playing XI by dropping spinner Keshav Maharaj and bringing in Andile Phehlukwayo.

India are already 2-0 down in the series and would be hoping for a consolation win the third and final Test match and end the series on a positive note.

Playing XIs:

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Andile Phehlukwayo, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi

India: Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Parthiv Patel (wk), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah.