In an extraordinary display of bowling prowess, the Test cricket scene was set ablaze at the historic Newlands Stadium in Cape Town where India and South Africa locked horns for the series decider. The capricious nature of the pitch was made evident as the day concluded with a staggering total of 23 wickets tumbling, matching a joint record for a single day of Test cricket. As the dust settled, it was the visitors, led by Rohit Sharma, who could afford a tentative smile, having corralled the hosts into a precarious position three wickets down in their second innings, with a challenging deficit of 36 still looming overhead.
The fateful day, Wednesday, January 3, etched itself into the record books as the second occasion in Test history to witness the fall of 23 wickets in just 24 hours – the first being on Day 2 of a South Africa versus Australia Test also conducted in Cape Town in 2011. The sheer unpredictability of the first day’s play, a rarity in itself, set a pace for the match that suggested a swift outcome was inevitable.
At the start of the day, South Africa’s captain Dean Elgar—appearing in his final Test—chose to bat, a decision mirrored in the desires of his Indian counterpart. However, the hosts’ batsmen encountered a relentless Indian bowling attack that exploited the erratic surface. Pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj, a known menace with a moving ball, initiated the carnage by snatching Aiden Markram’s wicket, sparking an Indian onslaught. What followed was an abysmal collapse of the South African lineup, with only two batsmen managing to cross the threshold of ten runs, facing the wrath of Siraj’s career-best figures and the combined force of Mukesh Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah.
The challenge was then passed on to India, who quickly learned the same harsh lessons about the Newlands pitch. The youthful Yashasvi Jaiswal faced an early exit, and a brief period of stability was afforded by a 50-run bond between Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. Nandre Burger, however, shattered any illusion of comfort by claiming the wickets of both settled batsmen and Shreyas Iyer in rapid succession. Virat Kohli steered a valiant effort to restore order, but the seemingly stable Indian innings capsized in an ignominious 11-ball spell, punctuated by a combination of Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada. India slumped from a promising 153/4 to a mere 153 all out, albeit securing a lead of 98 runs.
As twilight beckoned, South Africa resumed with a palpable intent to mend their earlier follies. Despite a solid beginning, Indian bowler Mukesh Kumar reasserted his prowess, shattering Dean Elgar’s defence and quickly followed up with Tony de Zorzi’s wicket. The indomitable Bumrah then extinguished the hopes of debutant Tristan Stubbs. At the close of play, Markram stood as a beacon of persistence for South Africa, unbeaten at 36, with ambitions of battling through the Indian bowling lineup to erase the deficit.
The anticipation for Day 2 is high, with the contest evenly poised. India, pushing to level the series, will prioritise an aggressive start aiming for a decisive morning session. Should they succeed in breaching the South African batting armoury before the lunch break, the path to a historic victory in the series decider would be clear. Meanwhile, South Africa remains obstinate, seeking to rewrite the narrative and upset their formidable opponents. In this spectacularly unpredictable version of the game, the only certainty is that the cricketing world will be watching with bated breath, ready for the next twist in this tale of bouncing leather and toppling timbers.
