South Africa made a solid start after winning the toss and deciding to bat first. The openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton put on 82 for the first wicket before Bumrah deservingly got the wicket of Aiden Markram for 38. Rickelton is looking good and will be joined by a new batter after the break. Other bowlers need to step up as it has been the Bumrah show so far. Advantage South Africa as we enter the second session.
South Africa get off to a steady start in the first hour of play
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton came out to bat for South Africa while Jasprit Bumrah had ball in hand for India. Bumrah bowled a wayward ball and gave away 4 byes to the batting side. Mohammed Siraj had ball in hand from the other end. He too bowled a wayward ball and gave away 4 byes to the batting side. Bumrah continued and bowled a probing over. Siraj continued and bowled a decent over as well.
Bumrah bowled another excellent over. Siraj bowled a maiden over. Markram broke the shackles as he hit Bumrah by standing tall and got on top of the bounce to punch it sweetly through the covers for a boundary. Markram got a reprieve next as KL Rahul dropped an absolute dolly at second slip at a good height but he put it down and Bumrah wasn’t happy at all. Bumrah should have had a wicket.
Siraj continued and bowled a wrong line as Markram glanced it away down to the fine leg fence. Bumrah continued and bowled a maiden over. Nitish Kumar Reddy was introduced into the attack next and he bowled a decent first over. South Africa were 26/0 in 10 overs. Bumrah continued and bowled another maiden over.
Siraj came back into the attack as Rickelton hung back and played it with soft hands to open the bat face and steer it through second slip for a boundary. The southpaw then leant forward and got to the pitch of the ball and drove it straight down the ground for a boundary to end the over. South Africa reached 34/0 in 12 overs in the first hour of play as Drinks was called onto the field. It was advantage South Africa at the end of the first hour.
Aiden Markram falls at the stroke of Lunch as South Africa make steady progress till Tea Break
Nitish Kumar Reddy changed ends after the Break as Rickelton tickled him away down to the fine leg fence for a boundary. Washington Sundar came onto bowl from the other end. Rickelton got a fortunate boundary away as he got a thick outside edge which ran away past the right of backward point for a boundary. Reddy continued and bowled a quiet over. Sundar continued and bowled a tight over.
The 50-run stand came up in 16.1 overs between the two players and for South Africa. Markram hit Reddy for a boundary by hopping back and worked it away to the fine leg fence. Markram hit a boundary again as he got forward and drove him through extra covers for a boundary. Sundar bowled another probing over.
Kuldeep Yadav came into the attack next. He too bowled a good over. Sundar bowled a probing over as well. Kuldeep continued and bowled a maiden over. Sundar continued as Markram got forward to the pitch of the ball and drove the ball through the covers for a boundary. Rickelton used his feet against Kuldeep as he stepped down the track to reach to the pitch of the ball and drove it hard to beat mid-on for a boundary. Rickelton survived a scare of LBW against Kuldeep as the height saved the batter as India did not review. Sundar bowled another probing over.
Kuldeep bowled another probing over. Sundar too bowled a decent over as well. Jasprit Bumrah came back to bowl the final over before Tea. In the fifth ball of the over Markram fell to Bumrah for 38 off 81 balls with 5 fours to his name. Bumrah bowled it a bit fuller and outside the line of the off-stump and still it is around that cunning length to lure a batter into the drive as Markram was set on 38 and went for an expansive drive on the front foot and played with a straight bat. There was not a lot of footwork involved to get to the pitch of the ball.
He paid the price and got an inside edge and saw the ball deflected back into the middle stump. Rickelton is unbeaten on 35 off 80 balls with 5 fours to his name and will be joined by a new batter after Tea. 9 extras given by India so far. Jasprit Bumrah has been the best bowler for India with 1/7 in 6.5 overs. Mohammed Siraj bowled 5 overs for 15 runs. Nitish Kumar Reddy gave 21 runs in 4 overs. Washington Sundar gave away 23 runs in 7 overs while Kuldeep Yadav bowled 4 overs for 7 runs.
What Lies Ahead in afternoon session
Despite losing that last wicket, it is still South Africa’s session as they have gone into Lunch at 82/1 in 26.5 overs. Jasprit Bumrah looked threatening, but the others need to step up. South Africa in the box seat after winning the toss and deciding to bat first. India needs to take regular wickets in the next session to come back in the game. South Africa will like to pile on the runs even more.
Interesting second session is coming our way after Tea. Let’s see how this second session plays out from here.
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