A wicket in the first over the day, another in his second and one more in his next – Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaked havoc on the first day of India’s Test against South Africa in Cape Town. The Indian pacer reduced the hosts to 12 for 3 inside the fifth over, however De Villiers (59*) and skipper Faf du Plessis (37*) added 95 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket to steady the ship.
Kumar first had Dean Elgar (0) caught behind off the third ball of the match. An over later, he trapped Aiden Markram (5) lbw with a sharp inswinger.
Hashim Amla (3) too was caught behind off the Meerut speedster as his first spell figures read 3-1- 5-3.
The Proteas took lunch at 107 for three, AB de Villiers was batting on 59 , while giving him company was captain Faf du Plessis on 37.
De Villiers was in his element as he hit 11 boundaries in 65 balls while Du Plessis also showed positive intent hitting seven fours in 67 balls after opting to make first use of the wicket.
The duo looked to counter attack the bowling with the former taking 17 runs off one Bhuvneshwar over.
In doing so, they brought up the 50-partnership for the 4th wicket off only 63 balls.
There was a chance from Du Plessis off Mohammed Shami (0 -33) in the 17th over but it bounced just short of skipper Virat Kohli at second slip.
Debutant Jasprit Bumrah (0-31), who was preferred over seasoned Ishant Sharma, came on as first change and purchased awkward bounce at times off the pitch.
He troubled both batsmen in his first spell but was unable to make the breakthrough that India desired.
Thereafter, De Villiers brought up his 41st Test half-century off only 55 balls, inclusive of 10 fours. The milestone came off a cut shot off Shami's bowling.
De Villiers’ aggression helped the run-rate as well, crossing four-runs per over mark in the last 30 minutes of the first session.
Bhuvneshwar came back from another spell towards the end of the session, but he was not able to separate the two batsmen. Hardik Pandya (0-1) bowled an over before lunch as South Africa crossed 100 in the 26th over.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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