Twitter Reactions: South Africa trail by 36 as 23 wickets tumble on Day 1 in Cape Town

The Day 1 of the second Test between South Africa and India played at Newlands, Cape Town on Wednesday, January 03 was full of action as a total of 23 wickets fell in the day. South Africa finished the day batting in their second innings as they were on 62/3 trailing India by 36 runs with David Bedingham (7*) and Aiden Markram (36*) at the crease.

The day began with South Africa captain Dean Elgar winning the toss and electing to bat first. Captain Elgar and Markram got off to a cautious start in the first innings scoring five runs in the first three overs before Mohammed Siraj found his rhythm and got rid of the duo. At the other end, Jasprit Bumrah accounted for the debutant Tristan Stubbs to leave South Africa on 11/3.

Also Read: SA vs IND: Virat Kohli's masterplan to dismiss Jansen, helps Siraj complete five-for on Day 1

Siraj continued his mayhem and ended up registering his best figures in Tests (6/15) to bundle out the Proteas for their lowest Test score since re-admission in international cricket. In reply, India got off to a decent start in their innings as they were 105/3 after 21 overs with captain Rohit Sharma (39) and Shubman Gill (36) getting dismissed after making vital contributions.

Virat Kohli (46) and KL Rahul (8) further added 43 runs for the fifth wicket to help their side cross the 150-run mark with the loss of four wickets. However, Lungi Ngidi (3/30) completely changed the face of the game with his triple-wicket maiden as he dismissed, Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja (0) and Jasprit Bumrah (0).

Kagiso Rabada (3/38) made matters worse for the visitors from the other end getting the prized scalp of Kohli and tailender Prasidh Krishna while Siraj lost his wicket due to an unfortunate run out. As a result, India lost six wickets in 11 balls and got bundled out for 153 leading by 98 runs. Notably, India recorded six ducks in their innings which is the joint highest in Test history. They also got the ignominy of becoming the first team to lose six wickets without scoring a single run in Test history.

Dean Elgar was given a warm send-off by India 

In the second innings, South Africa began their innings positively with openers Elgar and Markram adding 37 runs for the first wicket. Mukesh Kumar struck the first blow for India by dismissing Elgar (12), who was given a rousing reception both by the crowd and Indian players with the ongoing Test being the last of his career. Virat Kohli even walked up to him and hugged him to congratulate on a fantastic career while other players shook his hand.

Also Read: 'Way higher than what Ash did to you' - Kohli reminds Elgar of controversial LBW review from 2022

Meanwhile, Kumar further dismissed Tony de Zorzi (1) and Bumrah accounted for Tristan Stubbs (1) to leave South Africa on 62/3 at the end of the day’s play.

X was abuzz with reactions on an action-packed day of Test cricket in Cape Town. Here are some of the posts: