India vs. South Africa, 1st Test, Day 1: Rabada Debuts, Elgar Surprises

India are probably just ahead after Day 1 of the first Test, despite having a slightly dodgy start. But South Africa’s unknown and untested batting lineup—with AB de Villiers the only other experienced batsman left—means the hosts have the advantage. South Africa were 28-2 at the close of play on Day 1, still trailing by 173 runs.

South Africa are down a batsman after opting to include an extra spinner in the place of JP Duminy, who missed out through injury. Dane Vilas is also in the lineup, but he has never batted in a Test, so there are plenty of uncertainties lingering, and it’s been an entertaining day.

India won the toss and elected to bat first but stuttered through their innings. The lack of partnerships cost the hosts, and just one player—Murali Vijay—managed a score of over 40. India's batsmen far too often gave their wickets away far too cheaply.

The addition of Imran Tahir to the South African bowling attack meant that South Africa's problem of not getting the tail out quickly was seemingly taken care of. The hosts were all out for 201.

But South Africa's reply didn't exactly start great. Both Stiaan van Zyl and Faf du Plessis had seemingly forgotten how to leave a ball and were dismissed early on. Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla then knuckled down and saw South Africa through without any further casualties.

In this article, we discuss some talking points from the first day.

Kagiso Rabada continues his journey

Two years ago, very few people would have heard of Kagiso Rabada. By the time South Africa had won the under-19 World Cup—and he had taken six wickets against Australia in the semi-final—a few more people had heard his name.

But it wasn’t until he took a hat-trick on ODI debut that he shook the cricket world. He’s an obviously talented youngster who gets some good speed through the air and has good control. His efforts in limited overs, and a steady domestic season, was rewarded with a Test cap on Thursday.

Morne Morkel failed a late fitness Test, and Rabada stepped in. He finished the innings with figures of 10-0-30-1 and learned the harsh lessons of taking a wicket with a no ball. That’s not exactly setting the world alight, but if there was any doubt about his credentials, those have surely now been quelled completely.

Dean Elgar orchestrates a collapse

The surprise of the day was Dean Elgar. With JP Duminy out injured, and despite the fact that South Africa chose two spinners, they still needed something a little bit different.

Elgar became the surprise golden arm, taking four wickets in eight overs—the best figures of any of the South African bowlers.

South Africa’s impressive record in India continues

South Africa have a few juicy stats in their favour in India. Their batsmen have a higher combined average than any other team. Their bowlers have a lower combined average than any other team. They are the only team to have beaten India by an innings since 1990—and have done so thrice.

They have won more Tests in India than any other team since 1996. On Thursday, they added another little nugget to their impressive list. They became the first team to bowl India out on Day 1 of a home Test since 2008.  They were the team who did it back then, too.

India’s inexperienced batting order shows

Not one of India’s batsmen have played 40 Tests. While South Africa deserve credit for building pressure and forcing shots, there were a few dubious shot selections from India.

They needed patience, but patience only comes with experience, and that is something this Indian team—very much in a transitional phase—do not have at the moment.

South Africa’s batsmen don’t know how to leave

We’ve touched on this in the intro, but it warrants another mention because it’s of a slight concern. While the pitch has shown early signs of being a rank turner, South Africa’s batsmen have been dubious at leaving the ball. Both wickets that fell—Stiaan van Zyl and Faf du Plessis—were down to bad leaves.

Van Zyl can be forgiven to an extent—he has not played much cricket since the season ended—but Du Plessis has been in India and doing well. It’s not going to be easy to bat on this wicket, especially not if you have to go in last, so hopefully the man watching on from the dressing room has learned a lesson.