News by “Sana Ullah”
In a commanding display at the SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium, Centurion, South Africa stunned India in the first Test, securing victory by an innings and 32 runs. The Proteas’ bowling attack, led by debutant Nandre Burger, proved formidable, causing the entire Indian batting lineup to crumble.
Despite brief resistance from Shubman Gill (26) and Virat Kohli (76), the Indian batsmen struggled against Burger, with Rohit Sharma’s side looking perplexed and helpless. Sharma, following a stellar ICC World Cup 2023, failed to make an impact, scoring a total of five runs across two innings.
KL Rahul’s courageous century (101) in the first innings prevented further embarrassment as other notable names, including Shreyas Iyer, failed to leave a mark. The visitors were eventually dismissed for 131 runs.
Earlier, South Africa faced challenges with the bat, losing Aiden Markram early. However, Dean Elgar’s career-best 185, supported by David Bedingham’s 56 and Marco Jensen’s aggressive 84, propelled the hosts to a commanding total of 408.
On a cloudy first day, South Africa’s decision to bowl first paid off, with Kagiso Rabada and Burger causing early disruptions, reducing India to 24/3. Despite a resilient century from Rahul, the Proteas dominated, with Rabada taking five wickets and Burger claiming three in the first innings.
The comprehensive victory reflected South Africa’s dominance in both batting and bowling, setting the tone for the Test series.
