3rd Test: Virat Kohli Lone Ranger For India As South Africa Gain Upper Hand On Day 1

3rd Test: India skipper Virat Kohli was a picture of patience and perseverance in his well-crafted 79 but South Africa gained the upper hand by bowling out the visitors for an underwhelming 223 on Day 1 of the series-deciding third and final Test on Tuesday.

India skipper Virat Kohli was a picture of patience and perseverance in his well-crafted 79 but South Africa gained the upper hand by bowling out the visitors for an underwhelming 223 on Day 1 of the series-deciding third and final Test on Tuesday. Reaching 141 for four at tea, India looked good for a 250 plus first innings score before losing six wickets for 82 runs in the final session. Kohli (79 off 201 balls), back to lead the side after missing the second Test due to a back spasm, worked extremely hard for his first half-century of the series but eventually ran out of partners.

Cheteshwar Pujara (43) was the other batter who came with up a substantial contribution.

Lead South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada, playing his 50th Test, was the standout bowler of the day and ended with four wickets for 73 runs in 22 overs. Tall left-arm pacer Marco Jansen picked up three wickets.

India got the important wicket of South African skipper Dean Elgar (3) towards close of play with Jasprit Bumrah getting him caught at first slip.

At stumps, the hosts were 17 for one in eight overs with Aiden Markram (8) and night watchman Keshav Maharaj (6) in the middle.