MATCH STORIES
Follow UsDay 1 of the Cape Town Test had everything to keep you hooked. So much so that India, who were sitting on a 99-run lead with six wickets in hand, ended up being bundled out for the exact score. It doesn’t sound true, but such was the devastating show at the Newlands that we were left with pure, unbridled action.
From 153/4 to 153/10 - this was a show of complete outlier.
If you were wondering how the sequence of play was, it was W, 0, W, 0, W, 0, 0, W, 0, W, W!
India bowled the home side out for a paltry 55 in the first innings - bringing the hopes of winning their first-ever Cape Town Test. In response, they were 105-3 - practically ensuring South Africa were batted out of the game. Compounded by Lungi Ngidi’s dismal show, India were looking at a big total.
However, things changed dramatically when KL Rahul edged one behind to Kyle Verreynne, with the scorecard reading 153/4. India still had Ravindra Jadeja in their batting order, which would have made Virat Kohli, batting on 46, a little bit hopeful.
But what ensued after that was nothing short of a nightmare. In the same over as Rahul’s dismissal, Ngidi sent back both Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah packing on alternate deliveries. India’s last hope - Kohli couldn’t sustain the pressure - eventually holing out to Aiden Markram off a Kagiso Rabada delivery.
The last five batters added a whole total of zero runs to India’s tally as suddenly India fell to 153 all-out from being in a healthy position at 153/4. This became the first time in Test history that six wickets fell for zero runs in an innings. Previously, there were 45 instances of a team losing four wickets for zero and four instances of five for zero, but never a six.
It's never a bad day to make records, eh?
20 wickets have been lost on day one; what more now, Cape Town?
