Cape Town: India all-rounder Hardik Pandya punished sloppy South Africa by smashing a quick-fire 93 and later picked up two wickets to lead his team’s revival almost single-handedly, but could not prevent the hosts from taking control of the first Test match by the end of second day’s play on Saturday.
Pandya was unlucky to miss out on what would have been a remarkable maiden Test century, when he was the ninth wicket to fall for a counter-attacking effort. India conceded a vital first innings lead of 77, which had swelled to 142 at close of play.
South Africa had lost both their openers, Dean Elgar and Marakram, before progressing to 65 for the loss of two wickets.
At tea, Pandya was batting on 81 from 68 balls — having twice been handed a lifeline by the hosts as he put on an unbeaten eighth-wicket stand of 93 from just 19.2 overs with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (24).
Cheteshwar Pujara led a stout rearguard of a different kind in the morning session, reaching 26 from 91 balls at lunch, but was out the first ball after the interval as he edged Vernon Philander’s (3-33) delivery to Faf du Plessis at second slip.
When Ravichandran Ashwin (12) and Wriddhiman Saha (zero) followed shortly afterwards India were reeling at 92 for seven, facing a massive first innings deficit on a difficult wicket.
Pandya had his first piece of luck when he was dropped by Dean Elgar at gully off Dale Steyn (2-51) with his score on 15.
With an attacking field set, he was able to manoeuvre the ball into the vast empty spaces on the ground and reached his half-century off just 46 balls with 10 fours.
More good fortune followed when South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock missed a stumping chance off spinner Keshav Maharaj when Pandya had scored 71.
The pace of Pandya’s scoring was in stark contrast to the morning session as India simply tried to keep the venomous home seam attack at bay.
After resuming the day on 28 for three, India scored just 17 runs in the opening hour, a mixture of well-judged leaves and the ball whistling past the edge of the bat.
Philander bowled an excellent line and it took the tourists 34 balls to squeeze a run off him, which was all he conceded in a six-over spell.
It was a game of patience for the hosts but they were eventually rewarded when Kagiso Rabada (1-15) trapped Rohit Sharma in front of his wicket for a painstaking 11 from 59 balls.
South African fast bowler Dale Steyn left the field with a bruised left heel on Saturday, the second day of his first Test match in more than a year.
Steyn pulled up three balls into his 18th over after taking two for 51 in the first Test against India at Newlands.
A team spokesman said the injury was being assessed and treated.
Steyn, 34, had not played in a first-class match since suffering a fractured shoulder in a Test in Australia in November 2016.
He was included in a four-man pace attack for the India Test despite coach Ottis Gibson expressing concern about risking him because of a lack of match practice.
In the only cricket since his injury, Steyn bowled 18 overs in five Twenty20 matches for his franchise, the Titans, as well as 12 overs in a low-key appearance for an Invitation XI against the touring Zimbabweans in December.
