South Africa vs India, 2nd Test, Day 1 Stats Review: Siraj's best bowling figures, India's unwanted record and other stats

Bowlers ruled Day 1 of the 2nd Test between India and South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town, with a shocking 23 wickets falling. South Africa were first bowled out for a mere 55 in their first innings, followed by India's collapse to just 153. At Stumps, South Africa trailed by 36 runs with the score reading 62/3.

Early in the game South Africa opted to bat after winning the toss, but their decision backfired. David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne managed only 12 and 15 runs respectively, and none of the other batters reached double digits. The Proteas were bundled out for a meagre 55. Mohammed Siraj was the star of the show, picking up a stunning 6/15 in just nine overs. Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar provided excellent support with two wickets each.

In response to South Africa, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for a duck, but Rohit Sharma (39), Shubman Gill (36), and Virat Kohli (46) made significant contributions. KL Rahul, however, managed only eight runs, and the rest of the Indian batters were dismissed for ducks, leading to a total of 153. Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi, and Kagiso Rabada shared the spoils with three wickets apiece for South Africa. 

Trailing by 36 runs at the end of Day 1, South Africa's openers built a 37-run partnership before Dean Elgar, in his farewell Test match, fell for 12 runs. He was followed by Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs, who lost their wickets, while Aiden Markram remained unbeaten on 36 with David Bedingham at the crease.

Meanwhile, let us look at the stats and numbers from Day 1 of the 2nd Test between South Africa and India 

2 - Bowlers took 23 wickets overall on Day 1, which is the second-most wickets ever recorded on Day 1 of a Test. The record for most wickets on Day 1 is 25, set by Australia between England at Melbourne in 1902. 

23 - Bowlers claimed 23 wickets on Day 1 of the match, the most ever recorded on Day 1 of a Test in South Africa . This surpasses the previous record of 21 wickets, set by South Africa against England in 1896 at Gqeberha.

1000 - Dean Elgar completed 1000 Test runs against India, becoming the fourth South African batter to reach this milestone. Jacques Kallis (1734), Hashim Amla(1528), and AB de Villiers(1334) are the other three South African batters to reach a thousand or more Test runs against India.  

 1 - Mohammed Siraj's 6/15 stands as his best bowling figure in an innings, surpassing his previous personal best of 5/60 against West Indies in Port of Spain, 2023. 

 1 - South Africa's 55 is their lowest total ever scored against India in Test matches, surpassing the previous record of 79 at Nagpur in 2015. 

 1 - South Africa's 55 in the first innings of the ongoing Test against India is their lowest total ever at home. This surpasses their previous lowest score of 84, which they managed against England in 1889 Gqeberha. 

 1 - South Africa's dismal 55 is the lowest-ever score India has bowled out an opposition to in a single Test innings. This surpasses the previous record of 62 by New Zealand in Mumbai in 2021. 

 23.2 - Today's dismissal in just 23.2 overs marks the fewest overs South Africa has ever taken to be bowled out by India in a Test match. The previous record for this unfortunate feat was 25.1 overs, set back in Johannesburg in 2006.

 2 - South Africa's top four batters combined for 11 runs in their innings, marking the second-lowest score by their top order in a home Test. The only lower aggregate was a 6 against England way back in 1889. Additionally, their third-lowest total of 12, was also recorded against England in Johannesburg in 1927. 

 2 - Mohammed Siraj's 6/15 is the second-best bowling figure in an innings by an Indian bowler against South Africa in Test cricket. Shardul Thakur's 7/61 in Johannesburg in 2022 remains the best. 

 2 - South Africa's 55 is their second-lowest total in the first innings of a Test match. The lowest score was 36 against Australia in Melbourne in 1932.

 3 - Mohammed Siraj's 6/15 is the third-best bowling figure in an innings by a visiting fast bowler in Tests played at Cape Town. The record remains with George Lohmann's incredible 7/42 against South Africa in 1896, followed by Schofield Haigh's equally impressive 6/11 in 1899. 

 4 - It's the fourth instance that South Africa's openers have lost their wickets for single-digit scores in an innings within their last 42 home Test matches. The other three occasions also came against India. which is twice at this venue in 2018 and 2022, and once in Johannesburg in 2018. 

 14.83 - Aiden Markram has scored just 267 runs against India in the Test, averaging 14.83 with 12 single-digit scores. 

 7 - Throughout Test cricket history, 36 instances have seen teams bowled out for 55 runs or less, including South Africa's unfortunate collapse . Cape Town tops the list as the most with seven occurring at the iconic venue. Lord's follows closely behind, having seen six teams to such low scores. 

 8 - The '24 Cape Town collapse marks the 8th instance in Test history where a team has recorded six ducks in an innings, and the 3rd such instance for India. The previous two occurrences for India were against South Africa at Ahmedabad in 1996 and against England at Manchester in 2014. 

 6 - India lost six batters for ducks, and this is the lowest score ever for the last six wickets in cricket history. The previous record was three runs, scored by England against Australia in Melbourne