South Africa vs India

‘KL ne bacha liya warna Moyye Moye ho jaata’ – Fans react as India end Day 1 at 208/8 in first Test against South Africa

After drawing the T20 series 1-1 and then winning the ODI series 2-1, the Indian team now eye to win the Test series also. India are up against South Africa in the […]

Dec 26, 2023 9:27 pm

After drawing the T20 series 1-1 and then winning the ODI series 2-1, the Indian team now eye to win the Test series also. India are up against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test at the SuperSports Park in Centurion. Also, India are yet to win a Test series in the rainbow nation. The team came close on the last tour when they took a 1-0 lead, however, they lost the following two games to concede the series.

Earlier in the first match with was affected by rain which delayed the toss also. However, the toss happened and it was South African skipper Temba Bavuma who won the toss and elected to field first. The Indian team did not have the best start as the South African pacers were all over the Indian batters. Kagiso Rabada was the first to pounce on as he dismissed the skipper Rohit Sharma (5) on a well-directed bouncer. In addition to it, Nandre Burger playing his debut match picked up two crucial wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal (17) and Shubman Gill (2).

At one stage India were reeling at 24/3 but then Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer tried steadying the ship with a 68-run partnership. However, just after lunch break, Rabada struck early with the wicket of well-set Iyer (31) and Kohli (38).

Ravichandran Ashwin too followed soon after that. But again, 43 runs stand between KL Rahul and Shardul Thakur brought India back. But it was Rabada again who got the wicket of Shardul and picked up a five-wicket haul as well as completed 500 International wickets in the process. However, the rain gods interrupted the proceedings and after only 53 overs of intriguing cricket the stumps were declared for Day 1. India are currently poised at 208/8.

Rabada picked up 500 Internationals wickets

The South African speedster Kagiso Rabada has crossed the 500-wicket milestone in international cricket. With his 14th five-wicket haul in the first Test against India, Rabada not only troubled the Indian batting lineup but also etched his name into the record books.

Following this remarkable accomplishment, he also is now in the seventh position for highest wicket-taker for the South African team. Rabada has amassed 285 wickets in Tests, 157 wickets in ODIs, and 58 wickets in T20Is. Nevertheless, Shaun Pollock holds the record for the highest number of international wickets for the Proteas.

Let us look at how Twitter has reacted to this performance from the Indian team: