India's bowler Mohammed Shami, right, celebrates with teammates after bowling South Africa's batsman Aiden Markram for 1 run, during the fourth day of the Test Cricket match between South Africa and India at Centurion Park in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)India vs South Africa 1st Test, Day 4 Highlights: South Africa were 94 for 4 at stumps on Day 4 while chasing a stiff 305-run target in the first Test against India on Wednesday. Skipper Dean Elgar was batting on 52 after night watchman Keshav Maharaj (8) was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah in the last delivery of the day. South Africa still need 211 runs on the final day to win the match. Bumrah took two wickets while Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj got a wicket apiece for India.
FOLLOW: India vs South Africa 1st Test, Day 5 LIVE
Earlier, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant top-scored for India in the second innings with a run-a-ball 34 as the visiting team was all out for 174 in the second innings. Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen took four wickets apiece while Lungi Ngidi got two wickets for South Africa. India had bowled South Africa out for 197 after making 327 in their first innings.
India had lost and regained control of the first test Tuesday by bouncing back from a batting collapse of seven wickets for 55 runs to bowl South Africa out for 197 on the third day. That gave Virat Kohli’s team a 130-run first-innings lead. It had stretched that to 146 by reaching 16/1 in its second innings at stumps on a day when 18 wickets fell — all to fast bowlers — and no fans were allowed to be there to see it because of Covid-19.
India Playing XI: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa Playing XI: Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi
South Africa
197 (62.3) & 191 (68.0)India
327 (105.3) & 174 (50.3)India beat South Africa by 113 runs
India's bowler Mohammed Shami reacts after taking a career 200th Test wickets. (AP Photo)
Last over of Day 4 underway. Can a wicket be taken? Bumrah to bowl. If anyone can take grab a wicket, it's him. Terrific shot from Maharaj. It's gone to sweeper cover for a four. And got him. Maharaj is gone. Clean bowled. And that's it for the day. SA 94/4. Need 211 to win. India need 6 wickets.
And 50 for Elgar. With a four. What resistance by the Proteas captain.
It's no-ball! A full-toss at the body, Maharaj hurries out of the way and Bumrah puts his hands on his face as an apology. Dear god!! That was dangerous. The sky is cloudy but some sun rays just seeping through. SA 80/3.
Bumrah is reintroduced at the fag end of the day. Probably to get some quick wickets. And that is why!!! Got him. van der Dussen is clean bowled. Done and dusted. Partnership broken. South Africa 3 down.
Siraj brought back. He replaces Shami. Can he break this stubborn partnership? Back to back great balls. Maiden over to start this spell. SA 69/2.
Nice shot by Elgar. He and van der Dussen are slowly and steadily trying to get South Africa on track after a rather wobbly start. Gets across in his trigger and works it away to the deep mid-wicket fence. India need a breakthrough. 5 off this over. SA 65/2.
Full and very straight delivery and van der Dussen plays late and glances fine and beats fine leg to bring up the Protaes' 50
Unlucky for Siraj. Great bouncer. Elgar tries to sway out of the line he instinctively throws up his hands in self-defence. Smashes the glove and flies behind for a boundary. A very well bowled over. SA 43/2. Need 262 to win.
And that's another one. What a breakthrough. Peterson tries to drive. Thick edge and Pant takes him. Siraj finally gets him after that LBW appeal failed. South Africa are 2 down.
Is that an LBW??? Siraj looks pretty convinced. The umpire did not give out but India will take a review. It's probably gone. No bat, impact on middle. Umpire's call saves Keegan Petersen.
We are back underway as South Africa restart proceedings. Shami with the ball. Gets hit for a four rightaway. Nicely timed by Elgar. There are a lot of overs left today. Might this be the final session of the Test? You never know. Good over. SA 27/1.
South Africa are slowly trying to bring rhythm to their innings as Indian bowlers continue to breathe fire. Peterson and Elgar have kept SA in it as we go for Tea. SA 22/1.
“Jassi, isko na idhar sey crack hai!” Virat Kohli urged Jasprit Bumrah aka Jassi to shift his line of attack to the off side and go around the stumps to Dean Elgar. It was the end of Bumrah’s second over, where Bumrah had largely hit back of length around the middle stump line and angling it away and Kohli quickly shuffled to the stumps. He had a close look at the pitch and shouted out to Bumrah, who was at the other end, about to walk to his fielding position. “Tumhe lag raha hai ki idhar crack hai lekin nahi hai (You might think that there are cracks on the pitch in the stumps line but no). He then had another look at the pitch and shouted out, “iska idhar hai (it’s here), pointing to a spot outside off stump. “Bilkul eye line mey hai (it’s in his direct eye line). “Idhar sey dalana” (Bowl it from here) he said, signalling a shift to Elgar’s off side, urging to go around the stumps.
And next over, Bumrah shifted around the stumps to Elgar after couple of balls.
“We didn’t; pick this ball!” Suddenly, just as the South African chase was about begin, R Ashwin said those words and started to walk towards the umpires. In the background, Virat Kohli started to walk too, saying, “We were never given the option to pick the ball”. The umpires agreed and called the fourth umpire to come over with the box set of the new balls.
The convention is that the fielding team gets to pick a ball from a box of dozen balls. It appears that R Ashwin is the ball-picker for India. Even as one of his team-mates said something (not clear what he said,) Ashwin quickly said in Hindi, “bolna mat!” (Don’t say) and one assumes it meant don’t say that to the umpire.
By that time, Kohli too had joined Ashwin and co. and began moving away first towards the fourth umpire. He picked a ball and threw it to Ashwin.
Both Kohli and Ashwin started to hold the ball on the seam, much like a fast bowler, and flipped it up. One by one, they went through a few balls. By this time Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur too had joined in the ball hunt. And eventually, Ashwin was happy with one ball and also gave it to Siraj to try flipping it over.
On air, even as Mike Haysman kept muttering “this is bizarre”, Shaun Pollock, former South African pacer, said “this is for deep cricket enthusiasts”. And Polllock explained how it’s about the feel in the hands, and also added that his team-mate Jacques Kallis used to make fun of the fast bowlers who were so fussy about the new ball. “Let me telll you we always picked a good lemon particularly in South Africa,” when Haysman pressed him about how many times he had picked a bad ball.
The ball that India picked swung immediately. The first ball from Jasprit Bumrah swung away and the next seamed in. Next over Mohammad Shami got it to shape away from Aiden Makram who was too late in withdrawing the bat and got a fatal inside edge on to the stumps.
GONE!!!! Markram is clean bowled by Shami. What a start by India. Shami has been relentless in this Test!! What a wicket!!! Ball hits inside edge and ricochets onto stumps. SA 1/1
All set for the fourth innings. Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar in the middle. Jasprit Bumrah has the new ball. Ankle looks fine. Let's dive into it!! India have an issue with the ball even before sending down a single delivery. Not sure how that happens. Did the ball get mixed up? Bizarre!!
SA have successfully chased down 300+ target in the fourth innings only once previously in a home Test - 335 vs Australia in Durban in 2001/02
3/98 S Pollock v Eng 1995
5/52 J Kemp v SL 2001
5/127 F de Wet v Eng 2009
7/90 L Ngidi v Ind 2018
6/100 L Sipamla v SL 2020
5/124 M Jansen v Ind 2021
India cross 300 with that boundary from Bumrah. And gone. India's innings is over. Clean bowled. IND Finish at 174 all out. Lead by 304 runs.
Another one gone. Shami is caught at third slip off a leading edge by Mulder. Rabada gets him. India probably won't mind it now. They have got runs on the board to actually grind a result from here. IND 169/9.
Pant is really taking charge here and India is inching closer to 300. Just as I was typing, Pant is gone. Down the track he comes, Rabada bangs it in short and Pant just chips it up in the air to mid-on.
And that's gone. Ashwin is out now. Ashwin has to throw up his bat in self defence, and the ball flies off the arm guard to gully. However, on the way to the arm guard, it has also kissed the top of the handle of the bat. Ashwin walks.
And is this another wicket? Is this a caught behind. SA think so. Ashwin goes for a review. Ultraedge says it's a flat line! It's come off the back arm, and that's not out. And the next ball is gone for 4 byes. Beats the batter, beats the keeper. IND 144/6. Lead by 274 runs.
Shot by Ashwin for a 4. Beautiful to watch. A half-volley and he leans into a checked drive through long-on for four! Outstanding shot! IND 137/6.
Now Pant has hit his stride and hit two fours off Jansen's over. Gets across to clip one away towards the deep square leg fence and hits the second which flew to square third man. IND 131/6. Lead by 261 runs.
A closer look at Kohli's wicket. Very similar to how he departed in the first innings.
Another down. Jansen gets his man. Caught by van der Dussen. Tries to hook and straight down van der Dussen's throat. Gets a top-edge that hands the simplest of catches at deep backward square leg.
And gone. Pujara has another disappointing innings. A half-volley on the pads that he couldn't connect with, a faint nick on the flick and that's through to de Kock. Pujara gone for 16. IND 109/5.
Rahane is really taking it to Jansen. You might even mistake this for a limited overs encounter. A classy 4 to start where he laces a square drive to the deep backward point fence. The next ball is hit for a sixer. Absolutely hooked. The last one is hit for a 4. 14 off 3 balls.
No 10 for Virat Kohli. Out for 10th successive time, chasing balls outside off stump. Abhishek Purohit dwells into the previous nine occasions.
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Can you believe it? Jansen sends Kohli back to the dugout after de Kock takes the catch behind the stumps. That was a loose shot by the Indian captain, probably wasn't focussed as much after the break. IND: 79/4 after 32.1 overs
India are 79/3 after 32 overs and hold a 209 run lead against South Africa, who picked up two wickets since the start of play in the morning but still have Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara in the middle.
Kohli survives a review off Rabada, and a couple of balls later, guides a boundary down to third-man. India's lead in the second innings is now over 200 runs with 7 wickets in hand! IND are 71/3 after 29 overs.
Virat Kohli has started well, has already hit two fours. Good signs for India. Kohli's last few knocks in Tests in 2021: 35, 36, 0, 44, 50, 55, 7, 20, 42, 0, 13, 44, 0, 27, 62, 0, 72, 11. IND are 65/3 after 26 overs.
OUT! KL Rahul departs for 23. He flashes at one outside his stumps, gets an edge and the ball flies to slips. Rahul played only five Tests in 2021 but faced the third-most deliveries by an opener away from home: 1,069
Captain Virat Kohli comes to the crease. IND are 54/3 after 23 overs.
India add 34 runs in the first hour of Day 4, growing their lead. India have done well to get through the first hour only losing the nightwatchman but had a close shave with Pujara. IND are 50/2 after 20 overs.
Cheteshwar Pujara gets a life! Rabada misses an easy chance. Pujara lobs one to midwicket and it is the easiest of catches for Rabada, but he puts it down. Ngidi can't quite believe it. Huge let off for the Indian batter on 4. IND are 45/2 after 17 overs.
OUT! Rabada gets the breakthrough for South Africa on Day 4. Marginal extra bounce for Rabada gets the edge off the shoulder of the bat, caught in the slips by Mulder. Cheteshwar Pujara comes in place of Thakur. IND are 34/2 after 13 overs
Shardul Thakur hits Marco Jansen for the first SIX of this innings.That's a great shot in a crrucial session for India. IND are 28/1 after 10 overs.
The Proteas lose their first review on Shardul Thakur (4*) after an unsuccessful appeal for LBW by Marco Jansen. Jansen's delivery comes in sharply & Shardul catches it high on the pads. IND are 22/1 after 8 overs.
KL Rahul and Shardul Thakur come to the crease to kickstart Day 4 for India. Rabada opens attack for South Africa. Rahul kickstarts the day on a good note, with a boundary in the very first over. IND are 22/1 after 7 overs.
Fast bowlers reigned across time zones in the Southern Hemisphere on Tuesday. First in Melbourne, and then in Centurion, the sound of balls crashing into stumps, thudding into pads and smocking bat-edges narrated the tale of how much leather dominated willow. As many as 24 wickets fell on the day – 18 in Centurion alone – and all of them to pace. (READ FULL STORY)
While Shami has grown in stature, his journey from Sahaspur to the Indian dressing room has seen a lot of ups and downs as he went through injuries, dip in form, criticisms, and personal issues as well. But it was his passion and the continued guidance under former India head coach Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun that kept his passion alive.
In an earlier interview with The Indian Express, Arun had recalled how Shami was literally down in the dumps and had even thought of quitting the game.
On Tuesday at SuperSport Park in Centurion, Mohammed Shami became only the fifth Indian fast bowler to reach 200 Test wickets, scything through the South African batting line-up and claiming 5/44 from 16 overs. Kagiso Rabada was his 200th scalp.
“Mein toh line pakad ke rakha tha (I was bowling on a consistent line),” he told reporters. “Pace doesn’t matter much in modern-day cricket. My focus is always on hitting the right area. Today also, I just targeted the right areas,” he elaborated. “Test cricket is not rocket science. But to play Test cricket you have to know the conditions and adjust your line and length accordingly. It rained yesterday. It was different today. The pitch had the zip. It was imperative to hit the right area and control your line and length. I was hitting the right length,” said Shami. (READ FULL STORY)
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first Test between South Africa and India in Centurion. India took a 146-run lead after rain played spoilsport on Day 2. Stay tuned for live score, updates and highlights of the match right here.