India vs South Africa Highlights, 1st Test Day 1: IND 208/8; Play called off due to rain, bad light

That’s it from us in our coverage of the opening day of the two-Test series. Do join us tomorrow morning. Till then, goodbye!

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It’s official then — play has been called off on Day 1 due to rain. Only 59 overs were possible on the opening day out 90, both due to the rain and poor light in the third session as well as the multiple blows that the Indian batters copped in the second which led to multiple checkups by the Indian physio.

KL Rahul (70 not out) and Kagiso Rabada (5/44) have been the standout performers for the Indian and South African teams respectively so far today, with the latter going past 500 wickets across formats in international cricket with his 14th Test five-for. Rahul, on the other hand, is expected to play a crucial role in guiding India past 250 on the second day, which is expected to start slightly earlier than usual to make up for lost time on Tuesday.

Not a very promising sight at Centurion right now

For me, we are done and dusted for the day...#SAVIND pic.twitter.com/TkS4YfjCfx

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What started as a drizzle has now become a proper downpour. Not good news for both the players and the fans, and might just signal the end of the day’s play unless the skies clear up soon.

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After 59 overs,India 208/8 ( KL Rahul (W) 70 , Mohammed Siraj 0)

PLAY HALTED IN CENTURION — The drizzle at the SuperSport Park gets heavier, and that forces the umpires to call the players back to the dressing room and allow the ground staff to cover the pitch up as quickly as possible. It’s quite gloomy out there in Centurion at the moment, and the chances of it being a passing shower appear low at the moment. Rahul’s batting on 70 at the moment, and will be hoping to get the visiting team to a total in the range of 240-250 from here.

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FOUR! Rahul decides to open the face of his bat and steer a full, wide delivery from Jansen behind square, the ball flying over the outstretched hand of the fielder at gully and running all the way to the fence. IND 208/8

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After 58 overs,India 202/8 ( KL Rahul (W) 64 , Mohammed Siraj 0)

Jansen bowls out a maiden after getting rid of Bumrah. Coetzee replaces Burger after a three-over spell to the latter after tea, and he gets smacked for back-to-back boundaries by Rahul that gets India past 200 with two wickets in hand. This isn’t the easiest of surfaces to bat on and former India coach Ravi Shastri, who’s on commentary duty in the ongoing series, had earlier said that even a total in the range of 220 for the Indians would be a competitive one.

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FOUR! Rahul brings up the 200 for the Indians with back-to-back boundaries off Coetzee! Goes for an aerial drive in the third delivery of Coetzee's first over of the session, and follows it up with a firm pull towards the midwicket fence. The boundaries also take him into the 60s at the same time! IND 201/8

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After 56 overs,India 191/8 ( KL Rahul (W) 53 , Mohammed Siraj 0)

Mohammed Siraj joins Rahul at the centre after Jansen gets rid of Bumrah, and he must have been given special instructions both in the dressing room as well as from his batting partner at the centre — to not swing his arms till the time Rahul’s batting, and let him hog as much of the strike as he can. Meanwhile, there’s a light drizzle at the SuperSport Park at the moment with the skies also starting to get darker and the floodlights being switched on.

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BOWLED! Bumrah decides to throw caution to the wind just this one, and ends up chopping the ball onto the stumps for his vigil to finally come to an end. Marco Jansen gets his name on the wickets column with the breakthrough! IND 191/8

Bumrah b Jansen 1(19)