SA deliver boxing day punch

KL Rahul's gritty unbeaten half century was the saving grace for India on a rain-marred day.

Centurion: Tuesday might have been the day after Christmas, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell if you were at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. 

With the homecoming smell of smoked braai wafting through packed stands and crowded grass banks, the party spirit remained intact. 

The clarinet-and-drums band kept up the tempo when the DJ couldn’t keep up with the requests. White folk flocked to the small pool in their swimsuits. The rest ambled about with beers in their hands and a ready cheer on their lips. 

This, the most magical of settings for cricket, was all made possible because even the rains didn’t want to entirely ruin this little shindig. 

It did delay proceedings by half an hour at the start and also forced the premature end to the day’s play (4.45 pm SAST), but in all, the opening day of the opening Test between South Africa and India was delectable. 

Of course, India must have felt a bit hungover by the end of it because they were piggybacking on KL Rahul’s unbeaten 70 to close the day on 208 for 8 in 59 overs after being asked to bat. 

Then again, their skipper - Rohit Sharma - wasn’t even sure of what he wanted to do had he won the toss so India got what they were not prepared for. 

Rohit attempted to mollify the toss situation by following it up with a we’re-ready-for-the-challenge spiel, but no one was buying it. 

The pitch had been under the covers for over 40 hours and there was an educated forecast for movement and bounce throughout the day. If that wasn’t enough of a sign, India were down three wickets for 24 runs after the first 67 deliveries of the Test.

That was in part because Rohit and Yashavi Jaiswal didn’t have the mental fortitude to ignore some shots, and Shubman Gill was unlucky to get the faintest of edges off his gloves to ’keeper Kyle Verreynne off debutant Nandre Burger.

Yes, there was swing in the air and lateral movement off the pitch, but it came down to application, patience and, most importantly, the handling of Kagiso Rabada. 

Marco Jansen, Burger and Gerald Coetzee were all quite impressive in exploiting the conditions, but Rabada separated himself from the pack without even breaking a sweat.

Rabada, coming back from an injury to his heel, wasn’t running in full tilt, nor was he going through his deliveries entirely. He knew, though, that the conditions would assist him as long as he kept it in the right areas.  

So, besides getting rid of Rohit with a planned short ball to a compulsive puller with a deep backward square in place, Rabada accounted for Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, R Ashwin and Shardul Thakur. 

It was Rabada’s fourteenth five-wicket haul in Tests. More significantly, it was his maiden fifer against India. What a day to bring it up. 

Rabada was in line for more and may have even gotten them had play gone on, but Rahul was a picture of calm in the storm. He got to his fourteenth Test half-century. What a day to bring it up. 

But, as the lights came on and the crowds got greedy for more, inebriation no doubt played a part, sheets of rain came tumbling down. 

The players walked off, but the crowds remained: some danced with the brass band, some rolled on the grass knolls, some kids ran onto the field to slide on the covers, the DJ kept the music coming, and the smell of smoked braai continued to waft through SuperSport.

Suddenly, the sun peered through the clouds. It was all quite poetic in the end.  

SCOREBOARD

INDIA (I Innings)

Jaiswal c Verreynne b Burger 17

(37b, 4x4) 

Rohit c Burger b Rabada 5 

(14b, 1x4)

Gill c Verreynne b Burger 2 

(12b)

Kohli c Verreynne b Rabada 38 

(64b, 5x4)

Shreyas b Rabada 31 

(50b, 3x4, 1x6)

Rahul (batting) 70 

(105b, 10x4, 2x6)

Ashwin c (sub, Mulder) b Rabada 8 

(11b)

Shardul c Elgar b Rabada 24 

(33b, 3x4)

Bumrah b Jansen 1 

(19b)

Siraj (batting) 0

(10b)

Extras (B-1, LB-8, W-2, NB-1) 12

TOTAL (for 8 wkts, 59 overs) 208

Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Rohit), 2-23 (Jaiswal), 3-24 (Gill), 4-92 (Shreyas), 5-107 (Kohli), 6-121 (Ashwin), 7-164 (Shardul), 8-191 (Bumrah). 

Bowling: Rabada 17-3-44-5 (nb-1), Jansen 15-1-52-1, Burger 15-4-50-2 (w-1), Coetzee 12-1-53-0 (w-1).