India Suffer Batting Collapse After Siraj Special

CAPE TOWN: Mohammed Siraj got six wickets in a breathtakingly menacing morning spell but to his horror found India losing six wickets in a space of eleven balls in the final session before regaining the advantage against South Africa on a rivetting day one of the second Test here.

After Siraj's career-best 6/15 decimated South Africa for their lowest postapartheid score of 55, India were 153 for 4 before losing six wickets without addition of single run in a space of 11 deliveries to end with a 98-run lead. There were six Indian batters, who failed to open their accounts and one who remained not out also didn't trouble the scorer, making it a statistician's nightmare.

Lungi Ngidi (3/30) and Kagiso Rabada (3/38) got five of those six wickets keeping the lead below 100 and gaining the necessary psychological advantage as 23 wickets fell on the opening day.

South Africa were more cautious despite being aggressive as they scored 62 for three in their second innings at stumps to bring down the deficit to 36 runs. Aiden Markram (32 batting) looked solid in the middle.

The maximum number of wickets lost on Day 1 of a Test is 25 and that happened in an Ashes Test back in 1902. Dean Elgar, in his last Test match, would like to forget that he got out twice in a day's play while Mukesh Kumar (2/0 and 2/25) was rewarded for consistently pitching the ball in right areas, getting enough away movement against southpaws.

Any chance of the match going into the third day looks remote. On a Newlands track that offered steep bounce and would certainly come under the ICC match referee Chris Broad's radar, the red Kookaburra ball took off like jumbo jet from the length making it impossible for batters to survive.

Between shoulder blades to lower abdomen, batters got hit everywhere as the bounce became variable towards the end of the day.

Rohit Sharma (39 off 50 balls) lived dangerously but smacked seven delicious fours, knowing that surviving won't get him anywhere. Ditto for Virat Kohli (46 off 59 balls) and Shubman Gill (36 off 55 balls), who also showed right intent.

The talented duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and Shreyas Iyer (0), from the famed "Khadoos School of Mumbai Cricket" didn't trouble the scorers, after once again being exposed for technical ineptitude.