Day 1 of the Second Test between India vs South Africa: Mohammed Siraj’s six-wicket haul left South Africa reeling at a 96-year-low

India vs South Africa, 2nd Test Day 1

During the opening session of Day 1 at Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town, Team India’s pacers produced a scorching spell to wreck South Africa’s batting in one of their greatest comebacks. With a six-wicket haul, Mohammed Siraj unsettled South Africa’s top order and made it simple for Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar to wrap up the South African hitters at 55 runs.

It all began with Aiden Markram, who once again conceded a wicket on a delivery of decent length, and young Yashasvi Jaiswal made a fantastic catch. The next player to go was South Africa’s interim captain Dean Elgar, who guided the Proteas to victory in the opening Test at Centurion as Mohammed Siraj probed his weaknesses.

With Team India erupting in cheers after taking two significant wickets, Jasprit Bumrah became a member of the club by dismissing Tristan Stubbs to maintain India’s momentum. The hitters in South Africa were living their worst fear as Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah appeared enraged on the Cape Town surface.

South Africa began to make mistakes under duress from the pace attack, which gave Indian bowlers more opportunity to step up their attack. The only time South Africa looked like they were playing today was after Mohammed Siraj removed Tony de Zorzi from the game. South African batsmen David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne gave their side a brief moment of hope. However, Mohammed Siraj prevented them from moving too far.

There were two changes made by India before the match: pacer Mukesh Kumar took the place of Shardul Thakur, and spinner Ravindra Jadeja replaced spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The Indian pacers were effectively guided by Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, which benefited the bowlers.

Yashasvi Jaiswal leaves India early.

The squad anticipated a similar level of recovery from the top order following the impressive comeback by the Indian pacers. While Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma got off to a strong start for India, Kagiso Rabada of South Africa proved to be a deadly combination, dismissing Jaiswal to give his side their first breakthrough.