India v South Africa 3rd Test Day 1 Review: Honours even on an eventful day

India would have been mighty pleased to see the pitch at Nagpur. The dry surface looked tailor-made for spin and reverse swing. The joy on Virat Kohli’s face would have doubled when he won the toss, especially since he had picked three spinners and an extra batsman in Rohit Sharma at the expense of a pacer – Varun Aaron. South Africa brought back the off-spinner Simon Harmer and dropped Kyle Abbott for this all important Test match. With Dale Steyn still unfit, Morkel and Rabada formed the twin pace combination.

Deciding to bat first, the Indian openers had the best use of the surface. Morkel and Rabada bowled too short in their first spell giving the batsmen too much time to play. There was no carry-on offer hence the openers were able to negotiate them with ease. Harmer and Elgar started bowling in tandem from the eight over and Vijay was lucky when he charged Harmer and missed, but the ball hit the inside edge, beat the wicketkeeper Vilas by a long way. He attempted the shot again two deliveries later and cleared long-on.

The 50 partnership came up in 13.4 overs before Dhawan lost his wicket. He came down the pitch looking to drive, but the ball spun and took the inside half of his bat and headed towards the bowler Elgar who took a good diving catch in front of the stumps. A puff of dust exploded too as this ball pitched, indicative of things to come since there was a prodigious turn on offer.

Imran Tahir bowled a full toss and long hop that allowed Cheteshwar Pujara to flick and cut to the boundary. He bowled 2 disappointing overs and deservedly got a long break. The most exciting part of the innings for the visitors was the second spell bowled by Morkel. Charging in with intent, the tall fast bowler produced a masterful spell by bowling fuller lengths. Vijay was LBW for a well made 40; hit on the knee roll by the full delivery, one that straightened and kept so low, making it unplayable.

After lunch, Pujara played on the back foot to Harmer and was trapped plumb in front. Morkel cleaned up Rahane for 13 with one that nipped in sharply, he didn’t help himself by trying to play a very loose shot. The pacer later put South Africa in a commanding position by removing Kohli with a peach of a delivery that came in with the angle and moved away ever so slightly to take the outside edge. At 116/5 India was in need of a big partnership however Rohit Sharma looked completely at sea for the 28 balls he faced and ultimately lost his wicket via a bat-pad dismissal to Harmer. Instead of counterattacking the spinner, Rohit let the pressure build on him and played in the manner which doesn’t suit his game.

Ravindra Jadeja showed greater intent and played brilliantly for his 34 off just 54 balls. He capitalized on the loose deliveries and wasn’t even afraid to charge down the track to Morkel. He hit 6 fours in what was an important knock for his team. Saha defended doggedly and played well for his 32 which comprised of 4 fours. Ashwin contributed 15 before missing a googly by Tahir that rattled his stumps. Harmer wrapped up the innings with the wicket of Mishra; his 4th wicket in a fine spell of off-spin bowling. A cause of concern for South Africa was Morkel who walked off the park due to an internal leg injury sustained while bowling the 70^th over of the innings.

In reply to India’s 215 the South African openers consumed two tight overs from Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. Ishant looked in great rhythm and troubled Elgar. Bowling a tight line with a tied bun, he produced an outside edge that didn’t carry to Saha and a bouncer that hit the left-hander. Ashwin got Stiaan van Zyl on the first ball of the 3rd over; a brilliant off-spinning delivery took the outside edge of the bat and landed in the safe hands of Rahane. The night-watchman Imran Tahir swept the off-spinner for a four, however, was soon cleaned up by Jadeja with one that beat his bat. Tahir was lucky to survive a stumping appeal earlier getting the benefit of the doubt. Elgar and Amla survived the remaining overs and will have plenty to ponder overnight.

Brief Scores:

India – 215/10 in 78.2 overs (M Vijay 40; S Harmer 4/78)

South Africa – 11/2 in 9.0 overs (D Elgar 7*; S Jadeja 1/2)