Highlights, India vs South Africa, 1st Test, Day 5
IND vs SA, 1st Test, Day 5: Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja dominated the first session of the day as the two took six wickets between them to destroy the South African middle-order. The bowlers were aided by the variable bounce on the pitch, and Shami, in particular, utilised the low bounce to optimum effect. Ravindra Jadeja also took three wickets in an over to almost end the South Africa's chances of winning the game. However, Senuran Muthusamy and Dane Piedt have put on a decent shift since the collpase, and have added 50 runs and counting for the ninth-wicket partnership. (When and Where to watch) (Live Scorecard)1st Test, Day 5: India (502/7d & 323/4d) beat South Africa (431 & 191) by 203 runs in Vizag to take 1-0 lead in three-match series
02.12 PM: Rohit Sharma is adjudged the Man of the Match. It was a dream start for the Mumbai batsman as an opener, as he scored a hundred in both the innings of the game.
01.54 PM: India are now at the top of the World Test Championship with 160 points!
01.45 PM: Shami to Rabada, OUT! INDIA WIN! And that's a five-for for Shami! Rabada tries to go for the drive but edges it to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. India beat South Africa by 203 runs to take 1-0 lead.
01.42 PM: Jadeja to Rabada, FOUR! Width from Jadeja this time, but too short. Rabada cuts it square and the ball travels to the boundary.
01.37 PM: Shami to Muthusamy, FOUR! Shami comes around the wicket but it's the repeat of the four in his previous over from Rabada. Just that this time, the ball sails from between the wicketkeeper and the first slip.
01.35 PM: Jadeja to Rabada, SIX! Fuller, still, and Rabada goes over the bowler's head.
01.33 PM: Jadeja to Rabada, FOUR! This one was fuller to the stumps and Rabada slog-sweeps the ball.
01.29 PM: Shami to Rabada, FOUR! Thick outside edge and the ball races towards the backward point. Rabada begins with a four.
01.27 PM: India are one wicket away from taking a 1-0 lead in the series, and add another 60 points to their World Test Championship total.
01.23 PM: Shami to Piedt, OUT! FINALLY! Mohammed Shami, in his very first ball of the new spell, has got the breakthrough. This one was slightly full and outside off, Piedt tries to push it towards cover and misses it. The ball catches an inside-edge and hits the stumps, and a brave innings comes to an end.
01.20 PM: Ashwin to Piedt, FOUR! Ashwin tries to tweak with his run-up, but to no avail. He runs from between the umpire and wickets to bowl over the wicket, but the ball is too full and Piedt drives it to covers.
01.14 PM: Close-in fielders back for Muthusamy against Ashwin.
01.10 PM: Ashwin and Jadeja are bowling in tandem here. Virat Kohli is slowly going a little defensive here. A slip on either side for Muthusamy with no short-leg.
12.58 PM: Rohit to Piedt, FOUR! First Test fifty for Dane Piedt! Too short from Rohit, and Piedt puts his weight on the front-foot and smacks it between cover and point.
12.57 PM: Rohit Sharma is into the attack now.
12.52 PM: Jadeja to Piedt, FOUR! Plays it on the backfoot and dismisses it towards midwicket!
12.48 PM: Ashwin to Muthusamy, FOUR! Waits for the ball again. This time, it's a lot fuller and Muthusamy gets the time to drive it towards cover.
12.47 PM: Ashwin to Muthusamy, FOUR! Pitched it on a slightly full length and outside off, and Muthusamy gets behind the ball and cuts it towards point.
12.44 PM: Jadeja to Piedt, FOUR! We've lost count on the number of times Piedt has come down the track against Ravindra Jadeja. This time, he angles it towards the cover. As expected, no fielder in the position.
12.41 PM: Ishant to Piedt, FOUR! Length ball and way outside off. Piedt simply sends it towards the third-man boundary again. India won't mind the runs, for they've plenty on the board, but this partnership is slowly gaining momentum.
12.36 PM: Jadeja to Muthusamy, FOUR! Swept it through to the third-man boundary, and that's the 50-run partnership!
12.33 PM: Second consecutive maiden in the second session. Jadeja and Ishant began the proceedings from both the ends.
12.30 PM: And we're back for the second session of play. The duo of Piedt and Muthusamy has been decent so far, but we've still a long way to go. Can they pull off a stunner and hold India?
11.50 PM: LUNCH! A successful session for India, but Virat Kohli and his men would've preferred to end it before the lunch break, as it looked a realistic target before Senuran Muthusamy and Dane Piedt put on a brave shift. Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja were the stars of the first session as they took six wickets between them today. The bowlers were also helped by the variable bounce, as many deliveries kept quite low.
11.43 AM: Piedt and Muthusamy are putting up a brave fight after the middle-order collapse. Both the batsmen are watchful of the odd-ball, and backing themselves to smash the poor deliveries. How long would it last, though?
11.33 AM: Jadeja to Piedt, FOUR! Over the bowler's head again.
11.29 AM: The lunch has been postponed for another 15 minutes. If a 9th wicket falls in those 15 minutes, lunch will be further delayed by half-an-hour.
11.27 AM: Jadeja to Piedt, FOUR! Advances down the pitch again and directs it towards the long-off. Not the best of timings, but he will get a four.
11.26 AM: Jadeja to Piedt, SIX! Gets down the track and hits straight over the bowler's head. The six brings up the hundred for South Africa.
11.17 AM: Jadeja to Piedt, SIX! Takes the aerial route again, this time on the on side. Better timing than the previous one, and better result. With this six, this Test match has entered the history books for most sixes!
11.16 AM: Jadeja to Piedt, FOUR! Piedt lofts it over the mid-off. It's not timed to absolute perfection but it's in the gap, as all the fielders are close-in.
11.06 AM: Jadeja to Piedt, FOUR! Outside off, quite full and Piedt pushes it over the gap between cover and point.
11.03 AM: Ravindra Jadeja's three-wicket over will now push India to finish the game before the lunch break. Ashwin and Jadeja bowling in tandem now, as the South African batsmen's misery continues against the spin again.
10.53 AM: Jadeja to Maharaj, OUT! Two in two! That was almost an action replay of the previous delivery. Jadeja pitches it in the line of the leg-stump and the ball moves away, onto the thighs.
10.51 AM: Jadeja to Philander, OUT! The Proteas are falling like a pack of cards here. A fantastic review from Virat Kohli, who was inspired by Jadeja's confidence in the appeal.
10.47 AM: Jadeja to Markram, OUT! That's a brilliant caught-and-bowled from Ravindra Jadeja, but why are we surprised? It's Jaddu, after all!
10.43 AM: Shami to Muthusamy, FOUR! Around the wicket, marginally outside off and Muthusamy opens the face of the bat to dismiss the ball towards third-man.
10.39 AM: Jadeja to Markram, FOUR! Poor length. Too short and Markram cuts it towards the third-man.
10.35 AM: Senuran Muthusamy replaes Quinton de Kock
10.32 AM: Shami to De Kock, OUT! THROUGH THE GATE! No footwork from De Kock on this occasion. The ball travels inwards once again after pitching in around the off-stump for the left-hander.
10.31 AM: Jadeja to Markram, FOUR! Almost an imitation of the previous shot. This is impressive batting from Markram.
10.30 AM: Jadeja to Markram, FOUR! Comes down the wicket and smashes it over the mid-off for a four.
10.30 AM: Quinton de Kock has replaced Faf du Plessis.
10.24 AM: Shami to Du Plessis, OUT! WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT THAT! This delivery was pitched a bit short as well, but kept low and seamed inwards. The sharp movement came to bite the South African captain as they have now lost four wickets!
10.23 AM: Shami to Du Plessis, FOUR! A bit short and Du Plessis gets ample time to go on the back-foot and punch it towards the covers.
10.22 AM: Mohammed Shami replaces Ishant Sharma
10.21 AM: Jadeja to Markram, what a delivery to end the over! Drew Markram into playing the forward defensive shot but the ball drifts away from the right-hander. Maiden.
10.18 AM: Ravindra Jadeja replaces Ravichandran Ashwin.
10.16 AM: Ishant to Markram, Ishant is losing his length here. He seemingly wants to trap the batsman on their pads but is bowling consistently down the leg. This one was similar to the one Du Plessis hit a few overs ago.
10.10 AM: Ashwin to Markram, FOUR! Ashwin wants Markram to play on the off-side, but this one was a bit too full. The batsman drives it through the cover boundary.
10.03 AM: Tight bowling from both ends. Both, Faf and Markram are watchful for the unexpected turn and lower bounce. It could be a long day for the visitors.
09.55 AM: Ishant Sharma replaces Mohammed Shami.
09.53 AM: Ashwin to Markram, SIX! Counter-attack from Markram. Advances down the track and hits it towards the long-on.
09.52 AM: Shami to Du Plessis, FOUR! Poor length from Shami this time, as the ball went down the leg side. A simple flick towards backward point on this occasion from the South African captain, and he gets off the mark.
09:51 AM: Ravichandran Ashwin is now the joint-fastest to 350 wickets in Test cricket
Ashwin has equalled Muralitharan's record for the feat. (Read full story)
09.48 AM: Maiden from Ashwin. The pitch is playing the tricks here.
09.42 AM: Shami to Bavuma, OUT! BOWLED! Poor batting from Bavuma. The ball has gone right through him, as it kept low. Bavuma anticipated the length but couldn't bring the bat down in time.
09.37 AM: Ashwin to De Bruyn, OUT! AND THAT'S WICKET NUMBER 350 FOR ASHWIN! De Bruyn's inexperience in playing spin on full display here. Couldn't adjust with the sudden turn as he attempted to cut, and the ball deflects from the bottom edge of the bat towards the stumps.
09.36 AM: Ravichandran Ashwin to bowl from the other end.
09.32 AM: Shami to De Bruyn, FOUR! A little short-pitched and de Bruyn opened the face of the bat and the ball goes sailing towards the third-man boundary.
09.30 AM: Mohammed Shami to begin the proceedings.
09.25 AM: We're minutes away from the start of the fifth day's play. The 'D-Day', as they say!
08.32 AM: 'It was a difficult pitch to bat on': Cheteshwar Pujara
Pujara was at 8 on 58 deliveries at one stage, but accelerated brilliantly to finish on 81 off 148 balls. He talked about his game plan, and also addressed criticism around the timing of declaration. (Read full story)
08.10 AM: Records galore for Rohit Sharma on Day 4!
Day 4 belonged to Rohit Sharma, who broke numerous records during his 127-run innings. (Read full story)
06.44 AM: Hello and welcome to the live blog for the fifth and final day of the first Test between India and South Africa. It has been a roller-coaster ride for both the teams in the game, but India are clearly on the upper side at the moment. Could Virat Kohli have declared earlier, though? Well, we will find out today.
Brief Preview: Rohit Sharma smashed another hundred and a plethora of records as India set an improbable 395-run target for South Africa in first Test which is headed for an exciting final day. At stumps, South Africa were 11 for one with Ravindra Jadeja trapping first-innings centurion Dean Elgar in front of the stumps. The visitors need another 384 runs for victory. (Full)