India vs SA, 3rd Test Highlights: Rabada, Jansen restrict tourists to 223; Kohli scores gritty 79 on day 1

Cape Town, January 11: Kagiso Rabada showcased his imperious fast bowling skills to help South Africa restrict India to a below-par 223 in the latter's first innings on day one of the third and final Test here at Newlands, Cape Town on Tuesday (January 11).

India captain Virat Kohli was the lone warrior for the tourists as the batting maestro gave a glimpse of his vintage best in his first innings of 2022. Kohli - who is making his comeback in this match after recovering from a back spasm - negotiated a phase of high-quality fast bowling.

Kohli scored a gritty 79 off 201 deliveries and put on a display of batting of very high quality. The right-handed talismanic batsman notched up his career's 28th fifty and had he found any support from the other end he would have slammed the much elusive 71st international century. The India captain who was head and shoulders above the rest of the Indian batters in the first innings became a victim of Rabada and was the ninth wicket to perish.

Young pacer Marco Jansen was the second-best bowler for South Africa as he returned with figures of 3 for 55. The tall left-arm quick - who is playing his third international game - picked up the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant and R Ashwin. He was the big partnership breaker for the hosts and helped the Proteas make a comeback.

Earlier in the day, Kohli, who got off the mark with a delightful cover drive in the morning, hit another majestic one off Marco Jansen in the afternoon besides a six he collected from a mis-timed pull off Rabada. Rabada breathed fire in his seven-over spell but Kohli was able to see it off with required patience and discipline.

Pujara once again showed positive intent but was undone by a beauty from Jansen that angled in from round the wicket and straightened just enough to take the outside edge.

Rahane, who has shown sublime touch all through the series but has not been able to convert the starts, was caught behind after Rabada got one to straighten from the good length.

In the morning, India fought their way to 75 for two after losing their openers early. Kohli opted to bat on a pitch with a decent amount of grass and clouds hovering over the spectacular Newlands ground. The South African pace combo of Rabada and Duanne Olivier made good use of the conditions in the first hour by removing Mayank Agarwal (15 off 35) and K.L. Rahul (12 off 35) respectively.

Rabada, playing his 50th Test, targeted the off-stump channel consistently while Olivier was able to bring the ball back in sharply on a pitch with good bounce and carry. The in-form Rahul, who has been brilliant at leaving the ball of late, poked at a rising delivery on the off stump and nicked it to the wicketkeeper.

Agarwal's tendency to play the ball with hard hands led to his downfall as Rabada induced a thick edge off his bat with Aiden Markram doing the rest at second slip. Agarwal was dropped in the slips on 0 off Rabada in the third over of the innings.

With India in a spot of bother at 33 for two, Kohli and Pujara got together and steadied the ship. Pujara was quick to put away the loose balls and his innings comprised four boundaries, including a pull shot off Olivier.

Kohli took 15 balls to get off the mark but it was worth the wait as he leaned into a beautiful cover drive off Jansen. For India, Pujara was the second-highest scorer in the first innings with his knock of 43. The right-handed batsman looked poised for a well-deserved half-century but was outfoxed by an almost unplayable delivery from Jansen to get caught behind.

Kohli's grit and determination helped India reach 141 for four at tea break but he found no support in the final session of the day's play. He couldn't find any support from the middle-order and lower-order batters.

Pujara (43 off 77 balls) and Ajinkya Rahane (9 off 12 balls) were the batters to be dismissed in the second session, which yielded 66 runs. Kohli, who has been found wanting against the off-stump line, did play free-flowing cover drives but was more watchful when the ball was pitched in the fourth stump corridor.

The India skipper was batting alongside Rishabh Pant (12 batting off 30) at tea break and the visitors hoped for a longer partnership. But Pant was once again dismissed while attempting an expansive drive to be caught in the gully region and left his team in the lurch.

Kohli kept stringing partnerships with the lower-order but he didn't find any support from the other end as R Ashwin (2), Shardul Thakur (12) and Jasprit Bumrah (0) didn't last long into the middle. Mohammed Shami (7) was the final Indian wicket to perish.

Having folded the tourists to a low total, South Africa didn't the get desired start with the bat as they lost their captain and in-form batsman, Dean Elgar, early. Elgar (3) was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah as he edged the right-arm pacer to be caught at first slip by Cheteshwar Pujara.

Later, Aiden Markram (8 not out) and nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj (6 not out) ensured the hosts didn't lose any wickets further and reached 17 for one in 8 overs before the umpires signalled stumps. They trail India by 206 runs.