As a result, they lost three quick wickets quite early.
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Kohli gave special praise to Jadeja – playing in his first Test since August 2014 – after eight wickets and 46 runs in the match, and backed the 26-year-old to have a big future. After all, South Africa were reduced 28 for two by stumps. And when Mishra castled AB de Villiers, for the second time in the match, it was a matter of how soon the South African innings will fold.
All the while De Villiers had been forced to counter in small bursts – he finished with six fours – and he even survived being caught off Jadeja, a front-foot no-ball providing the reprieve.
“Looks like a pretty good wicket to bat on day one”.
But Ashwin had the South African captain stumped when the batsman stepped out of the crease to smother the spin and missed the line of the ball.
Chasing 218, South Africa’s experiment to open with a pinch-hitter in Vernon Philander failed to come off while Dean Elgar saw through the spin threat only to succumb to a Varun Aaron bouncer later in the session.
Simon Harmer (7) offered a stubborn resistance as he along with de Villiers added 34 runs for the seventh wicket.
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin claimed Stiaan van Zyl leg-before for five and left-arm slow bowler Ravindra Jadeja bowled Faf du Plessis for no score with his second delivery.
The match brought only three half-centuries and only one India managed to pass 200.
Tahir struck a crucial blow with his first delivery of the day to dismiss Pujara, whose 77 turned out to be the highest individual score in the spinner-dominated contest. Ashwin then made further inroads, picking Dane Vilas (1) to leave the visitors in a spot of bother at 107/5. “It is good tactics by India, preparing a wicket like that, but it is not going to get easier”. “The question will always be why didn’t our spinners turn it more than theirs?”
Virat Kohli praised India’s hunger for victory as they ripped through South Africa’s batting line-up to take the first Test in Mohali by 108 runs.
The tourists took the field without Steyn, who was sidelined for the entire innings due to a groin strain.
It started from the top – the way Shikhar Dhawan found his way back to the pavilion in the second over did not speak well for his abilities as an opener.
South Africa applied a lot of pressure on Vijay and Pujara (63 not out) as they scored just four runs in the next five overs.
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“The chat that we had in our meetings was that the ball wasn’t turning that much actually”.
