Rabada roars to put Proteas in charge

AMONG the plethora of Test cricket’s many idiosyncrasies is that the true value of a side’s first-innings total cannot be known until the other team has batted.

It is for that sole reason that the jury remains undecided on whether South Africa’s bowlers have placed them in a position of strength in dismissing India for 223 on an absorbing first day of this series decider at Newlands yesterday. And that became even more obvious during a tension-filled 35 minutes that the Proteas batsmen had to endure while the sun was setting over the magnificent Table Mountain, as they ended on 17/1 to trail India by 206 runs.

During that period, the home side lost their Wanderers hero Dean Elgar, who lasted just 19 minutes and 16 balls, before edging Jasprit Bumrah to

Cheteshwar Pujara at first slip.

Although the loss of their skipper Elgar (for three) would have left the South African dressing room with plenty to ponder ahead of what is expected to be another intoxicating day of Test cricket today, they can also reflect on a bowling performance that may yet have given them the edge over the coming days.

On a surface that provided assistance to the seamers throughout, the bowling unit, in particular Kagiso Rabada – who seems to have fully rediscovered his mongrel after a “discussion” with Elgar at the Wanderers – generated significant movement and genuine menace.

The leading wicket-taker in the series would have been fully deserving of a “five-for”, but ultimately had to settle for excellent figures of 4/73.

Among the four scalps was the golden wicket of the Indian captain Virat Kohli. After missing the Wanderers

defeat due to a back spasm, the Indian skipper was back in the heat of the battle and fully geared up for the challenge to create history at Newlands. Despite coming into the Test with concerns over his form – Kohli has not struck a century in two years in the longest format – he looked assured from the outset.

Whereas the rest of the Indian batting line-up were having trouble contending with the seam movement off the surface, the Indian No 4 was virtually impenetrable for the vast part of his 273-minute stay at the crease.

But in any clash of the titans, there is a worthy adversary, and Rabada proved just that when he shaped one away to Kohli, which the Indian skipper could not resist poking at outside the off-stump, and he was forced to take the long walk back to the pavilion for 79 after wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne completed the catch.

It may not have been Rabada’s best ball of the day – that was reserved for the luckless Ajinkya Rahane (nine), with one that shaped away beautifully off the Newlands pitch – but Kohli’s wicket did bring about the biggest celebration from South Africa’s talismanic fast bowler.

The rest of the Proteas bowling attack provided solid support to Rabada once they worked out that the shorter lengths of the highveld had to be replaced with a fuller length at the coast.

Duanne Olivier provided the opening breakthrough when he had KL Rahul (12) caught behind in the first hour, while the ever-improving Marco Jansen (3/55) claimed three valuable wickets in the afternoon to maintain the pressure that Rabada had created from the Wynberg End.

Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj also picked up his first wicket of the series to complete a brilliant all-round bowling performance, especially after India had won the toss and opted to bat earlier in the day, but we will all only know how good it really was once the home team bats today.