Live Updates

  • 8:52 PM IST

    End of the day’s play. South Africa 269 for 6. What an end to the day!

  • 8:46 PM IST

    Now Bumrah is back into the attack for the final over of the day.

  • 8:42 PM IST

    What’s happening here. Bumrah bowls 2 balls with the old ball and finishes the over with the new cherry. Ashwin bowls with the new ball from the other end. The next over is now given to Ishant. An eventful half an hour.

  • 8:40 PM IST

    What just happened there? Ashwin, bowling with the new ball, baited Maharaj to target the deep midwicket boundary, he did so and guess what, the fielder there misjudged it. He was around 15 yards inside the fence. A boundary. Another missed opportunity.

  • 8:33 PM IST

    Bumrah bowls 2 balls with the old ball and midway the second new ball has been taken.

  • 8:26 PM IST

    What’s going on? Are South Africans champions at this. Philander tried to fend a Pandya short ball that lobs up and falls between two close-in fielders and the wicketkeeper. There’s no calling whatsoever and Philander sets for a run. He is ball watching and doesn’t sees or hears Faf’s loud NOs. A needless run out. India have comeback strong.

    OUT! Vernon Philander run out 0 (6)

  • 8:17 PM IST

    If you have a guy like Pandya in the side, it’s an asset. He brings a lot to the table. He converts a half chance. Amla perishes to brilliant fielding. He fends and sets off for a quick single. He thinks the throw will be at the batter’s end but Pandya is smart enough to figure that Amla hasn’t made it yet and rockets a throw to the non-strikers end. Amla is short of the crease.

    Makes sense to not take the new ball and continue Ashwin as de Kock loves the new ball. Well, as I write this. QDK falls off the first ball. QDK attempts a lazy shot, gets an edge to Kohli at first slip.

    OUT! Hashim Amla run out (Hardik Pandya) 82 (153)

    OUT! Quinton de Kock c Virat Kohli b Ravichandran Ashwin 0 (1)
  • 8:04 PM IST

    80 overs. The new ball is due. South Africa have done well to be at 245 for 3. Amla moves to 82.

  • 7:48 PM IST

    It’s drinks. Amla’s 29th Test ton seems minutes away. Four overs to the new ball. Will we see Shami with some reverse swing?

  • 7:34 PM IST

    Pandya returns for his fourth spell. He is bowling to Faf, the man he dismissed in the first innings of the Newlands Test.

  • 7:20 PM IST

    Post tea has been an Amla show. The exquisite drives, the authoritative cuts, isn’t he a delight to sore eyes. Faf gets into the act. The series of dots ends as he produces a fantastic straight drive for a boundary.

  • 7:01 PM IST

    That’s through the cover. Beautiful roll of the wrists for Amla and that’s his 36th Test fifty.

  • 6:58 PM IST

    Bumrah almost had AB before tea. He eventually departs the same way. AB chops a cross-seamed delivery outside off-stump onto the woods. Big wicket for India. Ishant has been the best pacer today and he rightly gets rewarded. He induces Faf’s edge 2 balls later but it falls short of the second slip.

    OUT! AB de Villiers b Ishant Sharma 20 (48)
  • 6:41 PM IST

    There’s a first slip and a third slip for Bumrah. Amla drops his hand and intersects the gap, running it down to the thirdman for another boundary. Runs flowing for South Africa. The conditions at Centurion continue to be hot and Indian bowlers are wearing out.

  • 6:32 PM IST

    Bumrah starts the final session with a short and wide ball. Amla gleefully cuts it away to the ropes. This ball from Bumrah summarises India’s day.

  • 6:11 PM IST

    Pandya to bowl the last over before tea. He has bowled two on the pads. Amla got a single off the first, AB got his pad for a boundary in the next. That’s 100 runs for the session. AB now almost played it back to Pandya. Good seam position from Pandya. 7 off the 5 balls so far. Can Pandya remove AB before tea? AB lets go of the bouncer. It’s TEA. Another good session for South Africa.

  • 6:07 PM IST

    The AB killer almost got his victim, yet again. Bumrah had dismissed AB twice in his debut. The South African genius had almost chopped another one on to the stumps.

  • 6:02 PM IST

  • 5:53 PM IST

    Parthiv has dropped Amla. The batsman looked to flick it and Parthiv made the dive and got his glove. Meanwhile, AB just executed a perfect reverse sweep for a boundary. This is the danger pair. A wicket here can help India bounce back.

  • 5:35 PM IST

    Shami was on his knees, holding the neck. He has gone off the field. Doesn’t look good. The next over, Markram has edged one to Parthiv Patel’s gloves. Umpire has given it out. Markram isn’t sure and has gone for the review. Yes, there is the spike. He falls 6 short of a well-deserved hundred.

    OUT! Aiden Markram c Parthiv Patel b Ravichandran Ashwin 94 (150)

  • 5:10 PM IST

    Short and wide from Shami, Markram butchers it through off-side for a boundary. South Africa have scored at a brisk rate. Markram is now racing towards his third Test century.

  • 5:07 PM IST

    Four boundaries have now come off four overs. The partnership is now 50 and it has just taken the South African batters 12 overs. This is an interesting phase where a lot is happening. There are the odd chances.

  • 4:57 PM IST

    Four short balls, all four times Markram hasn’t been in control as he tried to aggressively hit them out. The fourth time he got a top edge for boundary. He ends the over with another short ball.

  • 4:47 PM IST

  • 4:45 PM IST

    Classic Mighty Hash. Ashwin drops it short, Amla rocks back and delightfully punches it though extra cover for a boundary. His first of the day.

  • 4:43 PM IST

    Meanwhile, India misfield that gifts South Africa an extra run. Bumrah is now bowling around the wicket, angling into Markram’s ribs.

  • 4:30 PM IST

  • 4:25 PM IST

    Premeditation cost Elgar his wicket. He used his feet and slammed a boundary right after the lunch. He steps out and now isn’t in control. Ashwin drops it short and Elgar plays it straight to Vijay at silly mid-off. There was deflection off Vijay’s stomach and he hangs on to it. Vijay almost took a screamer to send back Amla. He is making amends for not utilising the chance earlier.

    OUT! D Elgar c Vijay b Ashwin 31 (83)
  • 4:08 PM IST

    Sunil Gavaskar is livid with India’s selections. The Bhuvi logic of course, surprises all. He is also not happy with Dhawan’s exclusion and called him the sacrificial lamb. Makes sense.

09 (1)

Hello and welcome to the live blog of the second Test between India and South Africa at Centurion. I, Suvajit Mustafi, will be bringing all the live updates, highlights as well as interesting posts from the social media universe. The first Test was played at a fast bowlers paradise. It had movement that assisted the bowlers while there was bounce that the batsmen could make use of. Centurion, too, might have a similar kind of pitch to offer. Not quiet in terms of movement but pace and bounce. Centurion pitch curator Bryan Bloy mentioned that the track will be ‘lively’. 

India have lot to ponder about. Will Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul be included? The chances of the latter’s inclusion is high as he had an extended net session. Several former cricketers have unanimously voted for Rahane and Rahul. Kohli, however, shut the critics in his pre-match conference. Kohli said: “outside opinions do not form playing XI. It will be interesting to see what is the composition that Kohli would settle for in the second Test.”

Wriddhiman Saha is down with a hamstring injury and Parthiv Patel may get a game, while Ishant Sharma is expected to replace the in-form Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

On the other hand, Faf du Plessis will hope for a series win at a venue where the hosts are barely threatened. However, South Africa will have to bring in a reliable pacer in place of injured Dale Steyn.

Squads: 

India: Virat Kohli (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Lokesh Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Parthiv Patel

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Andile Phehlukwayo, Duanne Olivier, Lungisani Ngidi