On the first day of the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday, India’s opening batsmen KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal gave their side a strong start.
After winning the toss, India were 83 for no wicket before lunch, justifying skipper Virat Kohli’s decision to bat first on a green-tinged pitch.
Rahul (29 not out) and Agarwal (46 not out) both made strong decisions in picking which balls to play against steady but mostly unthreatening bowling.
a new hat With Agarwal on 36 and the total 52, Marco Jansen provided the only chance of the morning by getting him dropped by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock.
Jansen, a tall left-arm fast bowler, was chosen ahead of Duanne Olivier, the South African first-class season’s best bowler. In four first-class matches, Olivier took 28 wickets.
When Agarwal came into the attack in the tenth over of the day, he struck Jansen for three boundaries in his first over.
After Agarwal was dropped, Jansen produced some nice deliveries and beat Rahul outside the off stump in the over.
Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi shared the new ball, neither of whom had played first-class cricket since South Africa’s Test series against the West Indies in June.
The South African team wore black armbands in memory of Desmond Tutu, the country’s moral compass, who died on Sunday at the age of 90.
A minute of silence was observed by both teams.
