India finished the opening day of the first Test against South Africa at 37/1 in 20 overs, trailing by 122 runs, after Jasprit Bumrah’s incisive 5-27 had earlier skittled the visitors for 159 in their first innings at the Eden Gardens on Friday.
Before bad light brought an early close to play, India lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal cheaply. But KL Rahul (13 not out) and newly promoted No. 3 Washington Sundar (6 not out) ensured there were no further setbacks, adding 19 cautious runs in an unbroken second-wicket stand on a surface that continued to show variable bounce.
Earlier, Bumrah’s fiery spell dismantled South Africa after they had cruised to 57 without loss, triggering a collapse that saw the visitors lose all 10 wickets for just 102 runs. His two-over burst after tea energised a crowd of nearly 35,000, who roared through every delivery as he completed his 16th five-wicket haul. South Africa ended with their second-lowest first-innings total against India, wasting the advantage of winning the toss.
The post-tea session opened with Bumrah jagging one back to hit Simon Harmer’s off-stump. Three balls later, he produced a searing inswinging yorker to trap Keshav Maharaj lbw for a duck. Tristan Stubbs (15 not out) was left watching the collapse unfold from the other end.
On a tricky, two-paced pitch, Jaiswal took 15 balls to get off the mark with a drive off Marco Jansen. After two more boundaries, he chopped on for 12. Rahul was watchful, scoring just one run in his first 14 balls before driving Wiaan Mulder through the off side. Sundar survived a probing spell early on and looked more settled as the session progressed. Jansen, Mulder and Corbin Bosch kept things tight with the new ball, while spinners Maharaj and Harmer found turn, but Rahul and Washington held firm.
Bad light stopped play at 4:35 pm, leaving India well placed thanks to Bumrah’s standout spell that defined the opening day.
Brief scores:
South Africa 159 all out in 55 overs (Aiden Markram 31, Ryan Rickelton 23; Jasprit Bumrah 5-27, Kuldeep Yadav 2-36)
India 37/1 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 13*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 12; Marco Jansen 1-11)
South Africa lead by 122 runs.