Jasprit Bumrah bamboozles Proteas on tricky Eden Gardens wicket on day one

South Africa have found themselves in a spot of bother after crumbling to 159 all out on day one of the first Test match against India. The hosts built a wall of defence late in the day in their turn to bat, as they scored 37 runs in 20 overs while losing only a single wicket before the umpires called time on the day’s play due to bad light.

Only 75 overs of cricket was played on a day that was dominated by the ball with 11 wickets falling. Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was the architect of South Africa’s demise after claiming a 16th career five-wicket haul.

The unorthodox speedster was duly assisted by the surface at Eden Gardens, which served up inconsistent, up and down bounce.

Proteas opener Aiden Markram (31 off 48) crunched five delightful fours and a six before he was uprooted by a back of a length delivery from Bumrah that just kept rising and angling in towards him. The ball caught the edge of his blade before he was caught by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

Conversely, Tony de Zorzi (24 off 55), who came in at number five, was undone by a delivery that kept slightly low and zipped in towards his pads as he was dismissed LBW by Bumrah.

India selected their full quartet of spinners as well with off-spinner Washington Sundar promoted to three in the batting lineup in order to balance the side.

They found some success as well with the left-arm wrist spin of Kuldeep Yadav picking up the big scalp of Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma (three off 11) and Wiaan Mulder (24 off 51).

‘Relentless’ Bumrah

The opening day was a test of South Africa’s batters’ ability to bat on a tricky surface against a supremely talented bowling lineup. So far, no one in the lineup was able to stand up to the challenge.

“It was a sensational bowling display, particularly from Bumrah,” Proteas batting coach Ashwell Prince said after the day’s play, handing credit to the host’s bowlers.

“[Mohammed] Siraj in his first spell, [did] not quite hit his straps, but came back in the second spell, when he changed ends and was pretty good, found his rhythm and found his line in the end.

“But Bumrah was relentless, and [the] spinners were pretty good as well.

“Quite a few good deliveries, and sometimes as batters, there’s not a lot you can do about them, but we have to work hard; [there’s] a long way to go in the game, and hopefully we’ll go better in the second innings.”

Four of South Africa’s batters reached 20 or more but were unable to convert those starts into meaningful contributions to the team.

According to Prince, the Kolkata wicket made feeling comfortable at the crease – regardless of the time spent in the middle – almost impossible.

“After four or five deliveries in the first over where one rolled and went for four byes, and then two or three balls later [one] reared up; the signs were there pretty early on that the bounce is not consistent,” Prince said, summing up conditions.

“Quite often what can happen is that when you expect batters to get to 20, 30 and grow in confidence, I don’t particularly believe that any of the batters grew in confidence because of the inconsistency of the bounce.

“What can happen is that you don’t trust the surface as much as you should after spending an hour at the crease, and then of course when you face a quality bowling attack, they can more often than not get the ball in the danger area, and it does too much for you, and unfortunately that’s been the case today.”

No Rabada

Bumrah’s inspired display of fast-bowling set the scene for South Africa to return the favour after the tea break.

But they are without their main pace threat as Kagiso Rabada failed a late fitness test after injuring his ribs at training on Tuesday.

It was Wiaan Mulder who shared the new ball with Marco Jansen, and while he was tidy, his wicket-taking threat was nowhere near what a fully fit Rabada could have offered on a helpful surface.

Nonetheless, Jansen dismissed the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal (12 off 27) after the left-hander chopped a wide delivery back onto his stumps.

KL Rahul (13 off 59) and Sundar (six off 38) defended their way to stumps. Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer only shared six overs between them before bad light stopped play, but looked the most threatening options for Bavuma.

South Africa will need to strike early and consistently on day two if they are to prevent India from eating their slender 122-run lead. DM