Live Updates

  • 8:20 PM IST

    OUT! Vernon Philander picks his 6th. South Africa win by 72 runs; take 1-0 lead. This is Philander’s best figures in Tests ever. Ottis Gibbson will be a happy man in dressing room.

  • 8:18 PM IST

    OUT! Mohammed Shami falls for 4. Vernon Philander gets his 5th wicket. South Africa just 1 wicket away from gaining a 1-0 lead.

  • 8:16 PM IST

    OUT! Ravichandran Ashwin falls for 37. Vernon Philander brings up the keeper and Ashwin goes for the cut. He added 49 runs with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Mohammed Shami is out in the middle.

  • 7:53 PM IST

    India now need less than 100 run to win the Cape Town Test. Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin are chipping away SOuth Africa’s lead slowly and steadily.

  • 7:35 PM IST

    Both Ravichandran AShwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have looked confident thus far. Kagiso Rabada and Morne Morkel are at it. They will look to clean up Indian tail as early as possible.

  • 6:59 PM IST

    OUT! Wriddhiman Saha falls just on the stroke of tea. India find themselves staring down a big defeat. They have been completely overwhelmed by the occasion. TEA has been taken.

  • 6:35 PM IST

    OUT! 93 in the first innings and a mere 1 in the second. Pandya’s stint comes to an end. India 6 down.

  • 6:30 PM IST

    OUT! Philander yet again. Rohit Sharma chops the ball onto his stumps. Poor shot by Rohit considering the situation. India in deep trouble now. SA nearing a win today itself?

  • 6:21 PM IST

    OUT! HUGE WICKET FOR SOUTH AFRICA. VIRAT KOHLI FALLS. Vernon Philander brings the ball just that much back in and has Kohli trapped leg before.

  • 6:14 PM IST

    Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have consolidated the Indian innings. South Africa are facing a problem of less. With no Dale Steyn, Faf du Plessis will have to bring in Keshav Maharaj as a relief bowler.

  • 5:54 PM IST

    India are in a spot of bother here. They are 53 for 3, Kohli and Rohit Sharma will look to take visitors to safety. South Africa have been relentless in their bowling thus far, still no signs of Keshav Maharaj.

  • 5:37 PM IST

    OUT! Cheteshwar Pujara is lured into a false shot. This ball was literally unplayable. Morne Morkel is a happy man. Virat Kohli finds himself at the wrong end of the result. Rohit Sharma is out in the middle.

  • 5:21 PM IST

    OUT! Vernon Philander gets Murali Vijay. Vijay tentatively pokes and gives a leaping AB de Villiers a catch at third slip. Virat Kohli is out in the middle. India are clearly under the pump here.

  • 5:15 PM IST

    OUT! Everyone including the commentators jinxed Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan tried to pull but was caught due to extra bounce. Cheteshwar Pujara is out in the middle.

  • 5:06 PM IST

    Both Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel has been spot on since ball one. Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan have been steady thus far. Both have kept on their toes.

  • 4:54 PM IST

    FOUR! Lovely cover-drive. Balance. Execution. Timing. Murali Vijay feats on a fuller delivery.

  • 4:48 PM IST

    Well, well, well. What a review! Replay shows that the ball would have missed the stumps. Vijay survives. Philander cannot believe it. That was close!

  • 4:40 PM IST

    Only 1 off Philander’s over. India need 207 more.

  • 3:57 PM IST

    OUT! India need 208 to win. South Africa have been dismissed for 207. This session yielded 8 wickets and 65 runs.

  • 3:53 PM IST

    OUT! Morne Morkel falls to a short-ball. South Africa is 9 down, their lead is 207. Dale Steyn is out in the middle. ALERT! Wriddhiman Saha now has 10 catches in the Test; an Indian record.

  • 3:43 PM IST

    OUT! Keshav Maharaj falls for 15. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is brought into the attack and does the trick. Morne Morkel is the new man in the middle. Dale Steyn is getting ready to come out to bat if a wicket falls. South Africa’s lead is 199.

  • 3:31 PM IST

    FOUR! Finally AB de Villiers has something to latch on to. South Africa has gone past 100 runs. De Villiers is looking to take the strike as many times as possible. Keshav Maharaj too is ensuring that India work hard to claim his wicket.

  • 3:14 PM IST

    OUT! Vernon Philander departs. Mohammed Shami gets his third. Video replays showed the decision to be right. South Africa’s batting has just falled like a pack of cards. Keshav Maharaj is out in the middle.

  • 3:11 PM IST

    India need to get rid of the tail as quickly as possible. Vernon Philander has a reputation to hang in till the very end. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah need to motor on for a few more overs here.

  • 2:58 PM IST

    OUT! QDK falls. Jasprit Bumrah has been brilliant this morning. Virat Kohli was right to take the referral. South Africa lead is just 169.

  • 2:47 PM IST

    OUT! Faf du Plessis falls for 0. Jasprit Bumrah is on fire. He managed to produce extra bounce from the track that left du Plessis speechless. Quinton de Kock comes out in the middle.

  • 2:29 PM IST

    OUT! Kagiso Rabada falls. His resistance ends on 5. Mohammed Shami the beneficiary. Faf du Plessis will be new man in for South Africa.

  • 2:26 PM IST

    AB de Villiers is the key for India here. His stay in the middle for 20-25 mins can turn the tide in South Africa’s favour completely. Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are keeping it very difficult for batsmen to attack.

  • 2:10 PM IST

    OUT! Soft signal stays put. Hashim Amla falls for 4. Rohit Sharma was quite sure about the catch being clean. This is just the start India needed. AB de Villiers is out in the meal.

© AFP
© AFP

Hello and welcome to the live blog of the first Test between India and South Africa at Cape Town. I, Vishal Mehra, will be bringing all the live updates, highlights as well as funny posts from the social media universe. Day Three was washed out, and there are chances of rain playing spoilsport on Monday as well, making it even bluer for us.

Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar came to the rescue on Saturday when the mainstay batters pushed India in the woods with uncharacteristic strokeplay. Pandya launched a counterattack, while Bhuvi played second-fiddle. The 99-run stand saved India from disgrace. Pandya exploited the two drop chances and scored a scintillating 93. India, however, ended up trailing by 77 runs.

There were some nervous moments at the twilight of Day Two for South Africa, but they were happy with the 142-run lead on a track that has purchase for the pacers.

Dale Steyn will not participate further due to injury. It was confirmed that Steyn has sustained a tissue injury on his left heel which is likely to keep him out of action for 4-6 weeks.