India vs South Africa, 3rd Test, Day 1: SA 6/1 after India's disappointing 187

While the series is gone, it's important for Virat Kohli and Co. to do well and restore fans' faith in the team.

Virat Kohli (Reuters)

 Hello and welcome to the opening day of the third and final Test between India and South Africa at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. LIVE SCORECARD

24 January 2018

21:04 PM

It's stumps as the sixth over of South African first innings ends, with the hosts' scorecard reading 6/1, trailing India (187) by 181 runs. Bhuvneshwar got India the early wicket of Markram (6). Elgar (4*) and nightwatchman Rabada (0*) will resume for SA tomorrow. Do join us back then for what could be the day that decides who gets their noses in front going into respective second innings. 

20:47 PM

India have struck early. Bhuvneshwar breaks through with a nick off Markram (2)'s bat and Parthiv does the rest behind the stumps. How badly did India need that start after a paltry 187! South Africa 3/1. And South Africa have sent in nightwatchman Rabada to join Elgar, with stumps not far away.

20:27 PM

That is it! India have been bowled out for 187 in 76.4 overs as Rabada (3/39) scalps his third wicket dismissing Bhuvneshwar for 30. India lost their last six wickets for a mere 43 runs. Kohli (54) and Pujara (50) were the top scorers in an otherwise forgettable batting card after the visitors opted to bat. Morkel, Philander and Phehlukwayo took two wickets each, while Ngidi had one to his credit.

20:03 PM

Ishant Sharma departs for a duck after showing resistance briefly. Kagiso Rabada accounts for him as Faf du Plessis takes a nice catch in the slips. Second wicket for Rabada in this innings. India 166/9 in the 72nd over. 

19:27 PM

Now Mohammed Shami shows "valour" and finds Kagiso Rabada at mid-off as he tries to pull extravagantly off the bowling of Vernon Philander. India 163/8 in the 68th over. They have lost their last five wickets for just 50 runs. This lack of application is just appalling.     

19:21 PM

Well, it's a collapse now. Terrible attitude from Hardik Pandya, tries to hit Phehlukwayo out of the park, top-edges it and Quinton de Kock takes a nice catch running back. He goes for a duck. India 150/7 in 64 overs.  

19:16 PM

Now it's Parthiv Patel's turn to join his team-mates back in the dressing room. Morne Morkel has him caught behind for 2, second wicket for the tall South African bowler in this innings. India 144/6 in 63 overs.  

19:11 PM

Just after we praised him, Cheteshwar Pujara departs for 50. Big blow to India's hopes of getting a nice total on this tricky wicket. Phehlukwayo, who replaced Keshav Maharaj for this game, gets his first wicket as Quinton de Kock had an easy job to finish behind the wickets. India 144/5 in 62 overs. Hardik Pandya joins Parthiv Patel at the crease. 

19:04 PM

Here comes the much-awaited fifty for Cheteshwar Pujara, off the 173rd ball. But what a great innings it has been. On a tricky wicket, he has once again shown why he is one of India's most reliable batsmen. Virat Kohli has long been calling for intent from him and he has definitely delivered now. India 143/4 in 61 overs 

18:57 PM

India have scored 27 runs for no loss in seven overs since the tea break. Cheteshwar Pujara is looking really good. He looks perfectly settled. India would hope he goes on to score a big score. India 141/4 in 60 overs, Pujara 48*, Patel 1*.

18:12 PM

It's tea at Johannesburg. India 114/4 in 53 overs. Pujara 27*, Patel 0*.  India largely did well in this session but those two quick wickets of Kohli and Rahane has titled the scale back in South Africa's favour. Now Pujara seems to be India's only hope. He has shown plenty of intent in this innings, does not want to give his wicket away and he has consumed plenty of balls. He may not have scored a lot of runs but just hanging in there is important in these conditions.  Guess, the rest of the Indian batsmen need to adopt the same approach. The way the pitch behaved at the start of this match, don't think India will feel bad about their current situation.  

18:04 PM

Morne Morkel traps Ajikya Rahane in front of the wickets. The umpire raises his finger but after a little chat with Pujara, Rahane decides to review it. Replays show it's hitting the stumps. Rahane made 9. Just not the kind of return he wanted. India 113/4 in 52 overs.

17:48 PM

Another reprieve coming India's way. Ajinkya Rahane (3) survives a caught behind as it turns out that Vernon Philander has bowled a no-ball. Remember, Virat Kohi had two chances before going on to score his 15th fifty. India 104/3 in 49 overs.

17:20 PM

Just what India didn't need at all! Virat Kohli finds AB de Villiers in the slips just when it looked like he was on his way to another century. De Villiers had given him a reprieve on 34 but not this time as he takes a nice catch. Kohli departs for 54. Boy, are Lungi Ngidi's parents happy! Special moment for them. This is the first time they are watching a cricket match from the stadium and their son has just removed arguably the world's greatest batsman.  India 97/3 after 43 overs.

17:15 PM

What a smashing way to reach your fifty! Virat Kohli pulls Kagiso Rabada disdainfully to get a four and reach his 16th fifty. He took 101 balls to reach there, which says a lot about the difficulties he has encountered on this pitch. India 95/2 in 42 overs. 

16:33 PM

Kohli gets another reprieve on 32. This time the culprit is none other than his Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate AB de Villiers, who spills a simple chance at third slip. It appears he sighted the ball a little late thanks to the awkwardness of Kohli's edge. Bowler Morne Morkel is terribly disappointed. India 65/2 after 33 overs.   

16:25 PM

Kohli and Pujara have looked much better in the second session of the day. Their partnership has now gone up to 50, which is a big achievement on this difficult wicket. The ball has also got old and it's not doing as much now. India 63/2 in 31 overs. Kohli 32*, Pujara 15*. 

15:30 PM

It's lunch at the New Wanderers Stadium. India 45/2 in 27 overs. They will be pleased after what transpired in the first few overs that saw them lose KL Rahul and Murali Vijay in quick succession. Kohli had a little rub of the green as he got a reprieve from Vernon Philander on 11. Presently he is unbeaten on 24, alongside Cheteshwar Pujara, who consumed 54 balls to open his account.

15:07 PM

There comes Cheteshwar Pujara's first run, off the 54th ball of his innings. His single off Lungi Ngidi on the on-side takes him off, finally. India 34/2 in 22 overs.

15:01 PM

Big reprieve for Virat Kohli who tries to pull Kagiso Rabada but miscues and Vernon Philander fails to catch what appears fairly a simple opportunity at wide mid-off. The ball came off the toe-end of Kohli's bat. To add insult to injury, Kohli picks up a four later in the 21st over. To be honest, India will need some luck to survive here.  India 31/2

14:55 PM

Things have been really slow since our last update. India have scored just 14 runs since, in 11 overs. But the important thing is they haven't lost any wicket during this period. And that's what India need at this moment. Pujara is yet to open his account and he has already scoffed 45 balls. Kohli is unbeaten on 11. India 27/2 in 19 overs

14:13 PM

Here goes another wicket. Murali Vijay edges Kagiso Rabada through to Quinton de Kock behind the wickets after scoring 8. Right decision by Faf du Plessis to bring on Rabada after Morne Morkel's reckless bowling. It won't be wrong to say South Africa wasted those few precious with Morkel. Anyway, they have corrected their mistake and dividends are there straight away. India 13/2 in 8 overs. 

13:59 PM

Big relief for India. Cheteshwar Pujara survives. Vernon Philander raps him on the pads and appeals vociferously straight away for lbw. The umpire says no and it's reviewed. Replays show the ball is hitting the stumps but the umpire's call prevailed as per the rule. India 7 for 1 in 6 overs.  

13:45 PM

Here comes the inevitable. The way the pitch is behaving, it was coming. KL Rahul goes for a duck as Vernon Philander has him caught behind. India 7/1 in the fourth over. To be honest, ultra defensive approach won't work here, there has to be some intent.  

13:32 PM

This is what the "Greeen Mamba" looks like. 

There is a LOT of grass here. Pace and bounce at the Wanderers...  pic.twitter.com/jOWbdMpEof

— Neil Manthorp (@NeilManthorp) January 24, 2018

13:19 PM

Shikhar Dhawan was also expected to return but for now it appears the team management is sticking with KL Rahul. Parthiv Patel is another player who will breathe a sigh of relief: he also had a very unimpressive game in Centurion. Shaun Pollock has testified that the pitch here is indeed "Green Mamba" as predicted by its curator a few days ago. Remember, India are unbeaten at this venue and in 2006 they had beaten the Proteas here by 123 runs with Sreesanth turning the tables. 

13:13 PM

Here is South Africa's XI. 1 Dean Elgar, 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 AB de Villiers, 5 Faf du Plessis (capt), 6 Quinton de Kock (wk), 7 Andile Phehlukwayo, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lungi Ngidi

13:07 PM

Here is India's XI for the game. 

#TeamIndia has won the toss and elected to bat first in the 3rd Test #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/SEpdvhhYIq

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 24, 2018

13:03 PM

Big news coming from Johannesburg. India have won the toss and decided to bat on what appears a lively pitch. India captain Virat Kohli has made two changes going into this game, Ajinkya Rahane is back at the expense of Rohit Sharma. Bhuvneshwar Kumar also returns in place of Ravichandran Ashwin, that means India are playing with five fast bowlers in this game.  

12:47 PM

As you probably already know, India have given away the series after crushing losses in Cape Town and Centurion.  Virat Kohli and his men are under tremendous pressure to do well. A good performance in this game can revive Indian fans a great deal. As per reports, India are expected to make quite a few changes in this game following heavy criticism at the exclusion of Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The toss will happen in five minutes from here. Stay tuned, we will be back with the toss update.