Centurion, Dec 29: South Africa fought back to keep India in check 79/3 at lunch on Day 4 of the first Test here at SuperSport Park on Wednesday.
India are leading by 209 runs but have lost both the opener KL Rahul and night watchman Shardul Thakur in the first session.
Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen tried to kept things tight. In spite of dry spells, Shardul played a superb upper-cut and dispatched the ball for a maximum.
Rabada finally struck in his fourth over of the day and dismissed Shardul for 10. The Indian edged and was caught to the right of third slip by Wiaan Mulder.
Soon, Lungi Ngidi removed KL Rahul, India’s centurion in the first innings. The opener got an edge which Dean Elgar caught at first slip, forcing Rahul (23) to return to the pavilion in disappointment.
Rabada could have had another wicket but Virat Kohli survived on 10. South Africa reviewed for leg-before but the replays displayed that the ball had beaten an inside edge and hit Kohil on the knee roll. It was ultimately umpire’s call on clipping the wickets and Kohli earned a narrow save.
Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, who was dropped on four, saw off the first session without any further loss. While Kohli is unbeaten on 18, Pujara is on 12 not out leading into lunch break.
