STUMPS - DAY 1

SA 11-2 (9 ovs) vs India 215 | Scorecard

Ravindra Jadeja is called into the attack as it does not take time for India to bring spin from both ends. The first ball turns big but slips down the leg side to left-handed Elgar before he inside edges the next as Jadeja starts off with a good over.

Tahir plays a risky sweep shot off Ashwin, hitting him square for a boundary to get off the mark. He is beaten off the next ball as Saha comes up with a quick stumping which is referred to the third umpire. Tahir is saved by the skin of his teeth as he gets the benefit of the doubt with his foot on the line, he was very lucky to survive that. Kohli is not amused by that decision but Tahir survives as he sees off another over.

In the next over, Elgar survives a huge shout for leg before wicket against Jadeja as he is struck on the backfoot but is struck just outside the line.

A few balls later Jadeja cleans up Tahir, shattering his stumps to send back the nightwatchman for four and leave the Proteas struggling on nine for two in the seventh over.

Captain Hashim Amla gets an edge in the final over of the day but it does not carry to Rahane in the slips.

At stumps, South Africa are 11 for two in nine overs with Elgar on seven and Amla yet to score.

The two Indian spinners, Ashwin and Jadeja, claimed a wicket each to leave South Africa in trouble after India had posted 215 on a wicket offering a lot of assistance to the spinners.

South Africa need one of their top order batsmen to play a big innings and steer their team out of trouble on Day 2. Batting will keep getting difficult on this wicket but South Africa do some quality batsmen like Amla, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy, who are capable of doing well on this wicket.

Meanwhile, India would be looking to drive home the advantage on Day 2 and continue their wicket ways against a nervous South African batting line-up.

SA 4-1 (4 ovs) vs India 215 | Scorecard

Ishant Sharma to open the bowling for India. Remember India have just one pace bowler in the team today. He starts off well bowling in the channel on and around the off-stump as Dean Elgar defends before edging the third ball which falls short of wicketkeeper Saha.  He manages to see off the rest of the over without any more dramas.

Ashwin to bowl from the other end. Stiaan van Zyl is nearly caught in two minds as one delivery holds on to the pitch before he taps it on the off-side. The left-hander carefully plays out the Ashwin for another maiden over.

Ishant bowls a good bouncer to Elgar, who is struck on the arm trying to avoid it as he looks unsure of what to do courtesy of the lack of bounce. Three balls later, Ishant attempts another bounce but this time Elgar is waiting for it as he pulls it behind square on the leg side for a four to get the Proteas off the mark, in the third over.

Ashwin strikes in his second over. A flighted delivery which turns big as van Zyl came forward to defend but got an edge and was caught by Rahane at first slip for a duck.

Interestingly, South Africa have sent in Imran Tahir as the nightwatchman. He somehow manages to see off the remaining five deliveries of the over. He does not look that comfortable against the spinners on that wicket.

India 215-all out (78.2 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Ashwin plays a nice drive through the off-side off Harmer for a four before he comes down the track and is beaten but wicketkeeper Vilas fails to collect the ball cleanly and gives away three byes. The Proteas keeper has had a bad day behind the stumps and struggled against the spinners.

In the next over, Ashwin gets a leading edge which just falls short Tahir on his follow through, who does well to attempt to catch it.

Mishra plays a reverse sweep against Harmer as he hits it square, towards the cover region for a single and Ashwin takes one two balls later.

Tahir finally gets his name among the wicket takers as Ashwin looks to play it across the line but misses and is bowled for 15.

Harmer finishes off India's innings as he traps Mishra leg before wicket for three.

India are bowled out for 215 in 78.2 overs in their first innings. Interestingly, this is the highest team total in the series so far.

Harmer caused the maximum damage, claiming 4 for 78 while Morkel took three for 35 but Tahir struggled to make an impact on a turning wicket and got just one for 41.

For India, Vijay once again played a good innings at the top, scoring 40 but the two most important innings came lower down the order. Jadeja played a positive knock of 34 while Saha played a patient innings of 32 as the duo put on a good stand of 48 runs for the seventh wicket which helped India cross the 200-run mark.

With around nine overs to go in the day, the Indian spinners would certainly fancy their chances of picking up a few wickets before stumps on the opening day.

India 201-8 (73 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Ashwin also looking to use his feet against the spin of Harmer as he comes down and drives it to long-on for a single. Two balls later, Harmer bowls it down the leg side as it spins further away beating wicketkeeper Vilas for four byes.

Saha comes down the track to Harmer and drives a full toss through the covers for a four to bring up India's 200, in the 73rd over.

Saha's brave vigil comes to an end as Duminy pulls off a stunning catch at midwicket. The India wicketkeeper played a valuable innings of 32 from 106 balls, the most by an Indian batsman today, as he helped India recover after a few quick wickets in the post-lunch session.

India 201-8 (73 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Ashwin also looking to use his feet against the spin of Harmer as he comes down and drives it to long-on for a single. Two balls later, Harmer bowls it down the leg side as it spins further away beating wicketkeeper Vilas for four byes.

Saha comes down the track to Harmer and drives a full toss through the covers for a four to bring up India's 200, in the 73rd over.

Saha's brave vigil comes to an end as Duminy pulls off a stunning catch at midwicket. The India wicketkeeper played a valuable innings of 32 from 106 balls, the most by an Indian batsman today, as he helped India recover after a few quick wickets in the post-lunch session.

India 190-7 (70 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Saha, on 18 from 72 balls, gets a lifeline as his edge is dropped by wicketkeeper Vilas off pacer Rabada. It was a tough low catch as Vilas dived full length to his right but was unable to pouch the ball.

Two balls later, Jadeja survives a huge appeal for LBW but Rabada gets his man in the same over. He goes for a big drive through the off-side but gets an inside edge which crashes back on to his stumps.

Jadeja falls after a good innings of 34 from 54 balls, putting on useful 48 runs for the seventh wicket with Saha.

In the next over, Ashwin is beaten by Tahir, as he comes down the track and sees the ball spin past his bat. The ball has spun and bounced as wicketkeeper Vilas is unable to effect the stumping in time and Ashwin has made his crease back.

It would be worth a try having spinners from both ends against India's tailenders but South Africa are content to continue with Rabada from one end.

Saha is beaten yet again outside the off-stump before Rabada attempts the yorker but slips it down the leg side for four byes.

Ashwin gets off the mark in the next over with a single off Tahir before Saha steers the next ball fine on the off-side for a couple.

Ashwin plays a good drive through the covers for three runs as Saha is happy to defend from the other end. Saha is batting on 22 from 87 balls and has faced the most number of deliveries for the Indians.

Ashwin survives a huge shout for LBW against Harmer with the impact outside the line of the off-stump. That was mighty close!

Morkel comes back and picks up an injury after bowling just one delivery in his new spell. He seems to have injured his hamstring or maybe his ankle as he walks back to the pavilion grimacing in pain. This could be a major blow for the visitors as Morkel was their best bowler on Day 1, having taken three for 35 in 16.1 overs.

Tahir to complete the rest of the over and he gifts away another full toss which Saha drives through midwicket for a four.

India close in on the 200-run mark as they reach 190 for seven in 70 overs with Saha on 27 and Ashwin on five.

India 166-6 (60 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Jadeja is making quite an impact with the bat. A full delivery from Morkel is smashed straight back, past the fielder at mid-on for a four to take his score to 27.

In the pacer's next over, Jadeja throws his bat at a wide one only to get an edge which flies past gully for another four as India reach 166 for six in 60 overs.

Jadeja's run will start to hurt South Africa now, he has smashed 32 from 44 balls, having hit six fours, while Saha is biding his time to score 15 from 59 balls.

India 155-6 (57 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Morkel to start off proceedings after the tea break. Saha is unmovable as he continues to defend everything coming his way and survives a confident shout for LBW.

Leg-spinner Tahir comes back into the attack after a long wait. He continues to struggle, bowling a full toss to Saha who hits it through the leg side for a four. Three more singles make it seven runs from the over.

India 149-6 (55 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Harmer drops short as Jadeja rocks back and cuts it through the off-side for his first boundary of the innings. He can be a really dangerous batsmen in such situations, a quick 20 or 30 can prove to be very decisive.

In the next over, the off-spinner again drops short as Jadeja hits it through the covers this time for a four and picks a single two balls later. While Saha is looking to just stay out in the middle, Jadeja is trying to keep the scoreboard moving.

Rabada has a huge appeal for LBW turned down against Jadeja and rightly so because the ball pitched well outside the leg-stump. The left-hander continues to get the runs as he turns Harmer through midwicket for two runs before smashing a short ball straight down the ground like a crosscourt shot in tennis, for a boundary past mid-on.

Morkel comes back, replacing Rabada, as South Africa persist with pace from one end. He continues his good bowling rhythm, beating Saha outside the off-stump with the outswinger.

Duminy to bowl the final over before the tea break. Jadeja pulls a short ball through midwicket for a four as India go into the tea break at 149 for six in 55 overs.

Jadeja is playing a good hand with the ball, as he hit 21 from 26 balls, while Saha is fighting hard on nine from 47 balls.

The session belonged to South Africa as they claimed four wickets for 64 runs in 28 overs.

Morkel bowled a superb spell in the post-lunch session, claiming three for 27, while Harmer took two for 65.

India 127-6 (47 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Incredible display of fast bowling from Morkel, who is leading the way in Steyn's absence.

He is doing enough to keep the batsmen guessing and Rohit doing his cause no good as he plays a wild shot to a wide delivery.

In the next over, he plays a reckless sweep shot against Harmer but misses it. Rohit, who is a big hit in the limited overs format, seems to be feeling the pressure, having scored just one from his first 19 balls.

Meanwhile, Rabada replaces Morkel, who bowled a superb third spell of two for eight from four overs. Even he gets the ball to move as Saha beaten by one that leaves him but he fails to learn from it and is beaten thrice in a row.

Rohit's painful innings finally ends as he lobs a simple catch on the leg side off his gloves. The right-hander struggled on his comeback as he managed just two from 28 balls to give Harmer his second wicket.

Ravindra Jadeja gets off the mark with a single with Saha doing the same off the last ball of the over.

These two have their task cut out as India would look towards their lower order to take them past the 200-run mark.

India 120-5 (40 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Morkel makes it worse for India with the big wicket of captain Kohli, who is caught behind for 22.

The tall pacer is getting the ball to move both ways. Kohli is forced to drive at a wide outswinger which takes the edge to wicketkeeper Vilas.

The Indian captain walks back after scoring 22 as India slip to 116 for five in the 40th over.

New batsman Wriddhiman Saha gets a weird delivery first up which spits off the surface. The next is a swinging yorker which tails in sharply and Saha does well to keep it out. He steers the last ball between the slips and gully region for a four to get off the mark.

India 94-3 (31 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Rahane fails once again with the bat as Morkel breaches through his defences to bowl him out for 13.

Morkel in midst of a good spell as he induced an edge from Rahane which fell short of the fielder at first slip.

But the next ball came in sharply as Rahane was beaten completely trying to flay it through the off-side only to see it crashing into his stumps.

India in a bit trouble at 115 for four in the 38th over with Morkel giving the Indians some problem.

India 94-3 (31 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Pacer Rabada to resume proceedings after the lunch break. The third ball is short as Pujara sways out of the way but the ball bounces again on the way to the keeper. The first over of the post-lunch session is a maiden over as Pujara watchfully defends it.

Harmer to operate from the other end. Kohli gets the first runs of the session as he turns the off-spinner past fine leg for two. The last ball is down the leg side and turns further away as wicketkeeper Vilas is unable to collect to give away four byes.

Rabada has not been able to make the same impact as Morkel has done. A full delivery on the pads is clipped through square leg for two runs by Pujara, who retains the strike with a single from the last ball.

Harmer, bowling from round the stumps, finally gets one right as Pujara is beaten by one which turns sharply catching him in front of the stumps. Pujara walks back after scoring 21 as India are reduced to 94 for three in the 31st over.

Ajinkya Rahane gets off the mark with two runs as he punches Harmer down the ground past mid-off.

India 85-2 (27 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Morkel nearly gets another wicket with the away going delivery. This time Kohli plays down the wrong line and is beaten outside the off-stump but he successfully manages to see off the rest of the over.

Pujara is looking to be positive against off-spinner Harmer. He comes down the track and strokes it down to long-on for a single and Kohli does the same off the next delivery followed by two more singles.

In the next over, Kohli drives a full wide delivery from Morkel through the off-side for two runs. Three balls later, he leans forward, takes a big stride before despatching Morkel through the covers for a stunning boundary. You won't see better cover drives than that!

Elgar comes back, to replace Harmer, to bowl what could be the final over of the morning session. Harmer bowled a long first spell of nine runs for 25 and was unable to pick up a wicket despite getting a lot of assistance from the track.

Elgar starts with a long hop which Piujara pulls to fine leg for just a single and Kohli picks one from the next delivery. Another single for Pujara from the third delivery before Kohli sees off the rest of the over.

At lunch on Day 1, India are 85 for two in 27 overs with Kohli on 11 and Pujara on 18.

South Africa's spinners got some help from the pitch which started to turn from the very start. It was part-timer Elgar, who got the breakthrough with the wicket of Dhawan, but specialist spinner Harmer was unable to get a wicket in nine overs.

Leg-spinner Tahir was disappointing and bowled just two overs but Morkel bowled a fine second spell and claimed the key wicket of Vijay for 40.

After watching spinners get so much assistance in the first session itself, one wonders to think if this would be another three day Test match!

India 70-2 (22 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Vijay has looked in absolute control out in the middle and except being beaten a few times he has looked assured. He flicks Harmer on the leg side to collect another two runs before taking a single from the fifth ball to fine leg.

But it is pacer Morkel, who gets the key wicket of the in-form Vijay. The right-hander missed a full delivery which catches him plumb in front of the stumps. The ball was full and moved away after pitching as Vijay was struck on the backfoot to be dismissed after a good innings of 40 from 84 balls.

Virat Kohli gets off the mark with a single from the last ball of the over to fine leg.

India 66-1 (20 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Three spinners inside the first 16 overs, for an overseas team, is ample evidence to how mTahir gifts Pujara a full toss on the pads which he flicks through square leg for his first boundary. The leg-spinner is struggling to get his rhythm as the last ball is short and wide, which Pujara cuts through point for the second four of the over.

Two singles from the next over from Harmer, in which he has a couple of LBW appeals against Vijay turned down, maybe because of the turn which looked to be taking the ball down the leg side.

The pitch is assisting spinners but Tahir is taken off after two poor overs as he makes way for pacer Morkel, who bowls a maiden over to Pujara.

India are 66 for one in 20 overs with Vijay on 37 and Pujara on 14.uch assistance the pitch is offering the slow bowlers.

 

India 56-1 (16 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

No signs of leg-spinner as part-timer Elgar continues. The move pays off as he gets the first breakthrough with the wicket of Dhawan for 12. The left-hander came down the track but fails to get to the pitch and ends up lobbing a simple catch back to the bowler.

Dhawan once again failed to kick off after making a good start as he put on 50 runs for the opening wicket with Vijay.

In the next over, Harmer gets one to go through straight which beats Vijay, who looked to defend. Cheteshwar Pujara gets off the mark with a single, getting it past the leg slip fielder.

Elgar is taken off despite taking a wicket in his previous over as he makes way for leg-spinner Imran Tahir. The first ball is on the pads as Pujara turns it on the leg side for two runs and two balls later strokes it through the off-side for two more runs.

India 48-0 (13 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Vijay comes down the track to Harmer, bowling from round the wicket, and is beaten but gets an inside edge which saves him from getting stumped. However, he is daring enough to repeat the same shot two balls later but this time gets it off the middle for a six over long-on and picks a single off the next before Dhawan is beaten by one which spins past the edge.

Elgar bowling a steady line as Vijay defends it watchfully before taking a single from the last ball to keep strike. In the next over, Vijay survives a huge appeal for LBW against Harmer as he defended a full delivery but manages to see off the rest of the over.

India manage to successfully see off the first hour of the day, scoring 48 runs in 13 overs with Vijay on 34 and Dhawan on 11.

India 38-0 (10 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

Time for spin as off-spinner Simon Harmer is brought into the attack. Dhawan turns the second ball on the leg side for one. Some puff of dust as early as the ninth over as Vijay carefully defends it on the leg side before driving the next to long-on for one. Dhawan comes down the track to the last ball but gets it off the inside half of the bat, down to fine leg for two runs.

Spin from both ends as part-time left-arm spinner Dean Elgar comes on from the Pavilion End. He gets one to turn big as Vijay is beaten, playing inside the line. The last ball is a full toss which Vijay strokes through midwicket for a single as India reach 38 for no loss in 10 overs.

India 33-0 (8 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

The pitch is quite slow as is evident by the bouncer from Morkel, which sits up nicely for Vijay to pull it through midwicket for a four. The next ball is again short but this time it stays low as Vijay somehow pulls it to fine leg for a single.

In the next over, Vijay drives a wide delivery from Rabada through the covers for two runs and repeats the shot two balls later and this time get three runs as the fielder makes a good sliding stop on the ropes.

No signs of spin yet as the two pacers toil on a wicket offering not much with the two Indian openers looking quite comfortable out in the middle. Rabada overpitches one on the leg stumps as Vijay flicks it square on the leg side for a four and steers the next, which is wide outside of the off-stump, for another boundary to take his score to 22.

India 12-0 (4 ovs) vs SA | Scorecard

The younger Kagiso Rabada to bowl the second over. He starts off well, bowling a tight line as Vijay solidly defends to play out a maiden over.

Dhawan on strike for the first time as he defends the first ball from Morkel before getting a leg bye from the next ball as he misses the flick. Morkel bowls a quick bouncer as Vijay looks to duck but the lack of bounce means he is struck on the forearm.

Two balls later, he drives Morkel through the off-side for a single. Dhawan edges the last ball of the over, which goes past the gully region for the first boundary of the match.

In the next over, Dhawan pulls a short ball fine on the leg side for another boundary after Vijay had pulled the first ball to fine leg for one as India reach 12 for no loss in four overs.

Nothing at all for the fast bowlers with the new ball on a fresh day one wicket and it remains to be seen how many overs before spin is introduced.

India 1-0 (1 ov) vs SA | Scorecard

A huge roar goes out as the two Indian openers Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, walk out to the middle. Not too many people have come out to the ground, maybe only 10 percent of the ground is occupied, but there are long queues outside and we could see the numbers swell up as the day goes on.

Morne Morkel to open the bowling for Proteas as Vijay offers no stroke to the first ball. The tall pacer gets extra bounce off the fifth ball, which beats Vijay who looks to defend but misses. Vijay gets India off the mark with a single to the fine leg region.

A good first day for India with the bat could prove to be very decisive as far as this match is concerned. The pitch is expected to get difficult for batting as the match goes on and the spinners will no doubt enjoy bowling here.

"The wicket looks pretty dry. First day will be the best to bat on and we are going to bat first," India captain Kohli said at the toss.

India captain Virat Kohli has won the toss and has no hesitation in electing to bat.

As expected, leg-spinner Amit Mishra has come into the playing eleven after being left out for the last Test in Bangalore. He replaces all-rounder Stuart Binny.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma will make his comeback as he bolsters the Indian batting line-up in place of Varun Aaron as the hosts opt to play just four bowlers.

For South Africa, Dale Steyn continues to miss out because of injury. They made just one change, with off-spinner Simon Harmer replacing pacer Kyle Abbott.

No surprise then that the talk in Nagpur in the lead-up to the third Test, beginning Wednesday, is on the 22-yard strip, with many predicting it to start turning from Day 1.

India are set to field three spinners with Amit Mishra set to comeback into the playing eleven to join Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

It looks like Rohit Sharma will also return to bolster the Indian team and he could take the place of Varun Aaron.

Ahead of the third Test against South Africa in Nagpur, Captain Kohli indicates that the wicket could prompt changes in India's squad. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports from Nagpur.

Welcome to the coverage of the third Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur, on Wednesday.

An enviable nine-year overseas record of 10 Test series victories in 14 rubbers by South Africa is under serious threat from India when the two teams face-off in the third and penultimate game of the current series at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, in Jamtha.

After the 0-2 reverse to Sri Lanka in 2006, South Africa haven't lost a Test series away from home, and the list includes two wins over mighty Australia in 2008-09 and 2012-13, other than victories in one rubber each over England (2008), the West Indies 2010), New Zealand (2011-12), Pakistan (2007-08), Sri Lanka (2014), Bangladesh (2007-8) and Zimbabwe (2007-08).

Significantly, during this period South Africa who trail India 0-1 with two Tests left in the current rubber haven't won in the latter's backyard on the two visits they made prior to the ongoing one -- in 2007-08 (three-Test series) and 2009-10 (two).