SA vs IND: Keegan Petersen grabs a stunning one-handed catch at leg-slip to dismiss Cheteshwar Pujara in Cape Town

South Africa couldn’t have asked for a better start on Day 3 of the ongoing third Test against India. Veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed on the very second ball of the day’s play and the home team was ecstatic. It was a masterstroke from South African captain Dean Elgar and credit must also go to Keegan Petersen for taking an astonishing catch.

Knowing Pujara’s vulnerability against the short deliveries, pacer Marco Jansen decided to attack him with bouncers on a pace-friendly Cape Town track. Elgar even put a leg slip in form of Keegan Petersen to create wicket-taking chances. The move proved to be spot on right away as Pujara’s resilience ended in the very second ball of the day.

Cheteshwar Pujara’s dismissal titled the momentum in South Africa’s favour

It was a short delivery from Jansen which was aimed around Pujara’s ribcage area. Pujara clipped the ball uncomfortably, allowing Keegan Petersen to pull off a blinder. The batter, who scored 72 earlier in the game, dived full length towards his right and grabbed the ball with one hand. It was indeed a stellar fielding effort and would have also boosted the morale in the Proteas camp.

After all, Pujara is a proven star of his format and had played some fine knock in this series. He even scored a pleasant-looking 41 in India’s first innings in the game. However, he couldn’t do much in the second innings, managing a 33-ball 9.

Meanwhile, former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane also couldn’t make much impact and fell prey to Kagiso Rabada after scoring just one of nine deliveries. The game has quickly tilted in South Africa’s favour and India, who earned a 13-run lead in the first innings, need some runs on the board. Hence, it would be interesting to see how Day 3 of the contest pans out.

It must be noted that stakes are incredibly high on the series. With the series being poised at 1-1, the winner of this contest would walk away with the series win. As India have never won a Test series in the rainbow nation, they have a chance to script history. On the contrary, South Africa will fight to avoid the same.