India v South Africa: 1st Test, Day One - Spinners dominate as twelve wickets fall on the first day

Murali Vijay's 75 gave the Indian total some respectability

When India won the toss and chose to bat, captain Virat Kohli expected a track conducive to batting. However, what ensued was far from the captain's expectations. India were bowled out for a paltry 201 in 68 overs. South African spinners picked up seven of the ten Indian wickets.

India's trouble against part-time spinners in Tests showed again as opening batsman Dean Elgar's slow left-arm spin gave him his career best figures of 4-22. He went through the Indian middle order, celebrating each of his wickets with extreme passion and exuberance.

Most Indian batsmen were not able to read the turn on the pitch as none of them except Murali Vijay looked comfortable. Vijay batted resolutely leaving well and putting away the bad deliveries as he scored a vital 75 for his team.

The opening batsman exuded grace and elegance throughout his innings, until the moment he misread an attempted sweep off Simon Harmer and was trapped leg-before. Vijay's form in the last few Test series for India has been impressive and he showed no signs of stopping despite the injury he suffered in the Sri Lanka Test series.

Shikhar Dhawan, given another chance to perform, did not grab the opportunity and fell for a duck. Cheteshwar Pujara showed signs of his tenacity but lost his wicket in Elgar's first over. Captain Kohli, who is celebrating his 27^th birthday today, scored only a single run before he got a leading edge off Kagiso Rabada.

Ajinkya Rahane showed signs of building a big partnership with the established Vijay, but he also fell to Elgar's slow left-arm delivery attempting a drive. Wriddhiman Saha, who was a doubt for the game, did not open his account and nicked the ball to first slip.

Ravindra Jadeja, who made a comeback to the Test squad, scored a patient 38 off 92 balls, which was his second longest innings in his Test career so far. His willingness to stay at the crease is probably a sign of his maturity growing for the better. Imran Tahir picked up two wickets as he cleaned up the Indian tail to bowl India out for 201.

In response, India picked up two early wickets to put South Africa in a spot of bother as pitch seems to show much promise for the Indian spin trio. South Africa lost Stiaan van Zyl and Faf du Plessis in the space of 10 balls. Both batsmen lost their wickets while leaving the ball, which is clear proof of how difficult the batsmen are finding it to read the spin.

Van Zyl shouldered his arms to Ashwin's straighter delivery as he was trapped in front of the wicket. Du Plessis lost his wicket as he left an arm ball from Jadeja, who made an impact in just the second ball of his comeback.

Along with Mishra, Jadeja and Ashwin will be hoping to run through the South African batting lineup and give India a lead in the first innings. However, South Africa's best players of spin Amla and AB de Villiers will look to give the Proteas a good first innings total and put pressure on the hosts.