Steyn in, Bavuma out as Proteas bat first at Newlands

Proteas captain Faf du Plessis spins the coin, but Indian skipper Virat Kohli called incorrectly, which saw Du Plessis opt to bat first at Newlands on Friday. Photo: @BCCI via Twitter

Proteas captain Faf du Plessis spins the coin, but Indian skipper Virat Kohli called incorrectly, which saw Du Plessis opt to bat first at Newlands on Friday. Photo: @BCCI via Twitter

Published Jan 5, 2018

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CAPE TOWN

– Bhuvneshwar Kumar immediately made Proteas captain Faf du Plessis question

his decision to bat first when he removed opener Dean Elgar with the third ball

of the first Test at Newlands.

Kumar exploited the green conditions underfoot by getting

the ball the seam across Elgar. 

South

Africa’s highest run-scorer of 2017 could

only follow the ball through to wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha to silence a

packed Newlands.

New batsman Hashim Amla was also tested with the remaining

three balls from Bhuvneshwar, but survived the rest of the over.

Bhuvneshwar, though, gained further success when he trapped

Aiden Markram (5) in his second over lbw. South Africa were reeling at

7/2 in the third over when AB de Villiers walked to the crease.

The big news at the toss, though, was South Africa’s

decision to select four seamers, with Dale Steyn making his much-anticipated

comeback to Test cricket after a year-long absence due to a shoulder injury.

Test series history between South Africa and India. Graphic: Rowan Abrahams

Batsman Temba Bavuma was the unfortunate casualty, with

all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo making way for the return of captain Faf du

Plessis. 

India also granted a Test debut to Jaspit Bumrah at the expense of Ishant Sharma,

while Rohit Sharma was also preferred to Ajinkya Rahane.

Teams For

Newlands

South

Africa:

Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du

Plessis (captain), Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso

Rabada, Dale Steyn, Morné Morkel.

India:

Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara,

Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Wriddiman Saha, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran

Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah.

@ZaahierAdams

 

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