South Africa vs West Indies
Day 1 of 1st Test
Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion
Toss: South Africa decided to bat
Scorecard: http://bit.ly/savwi1sttest
Energized and enlivened, fast bowler Alzarri Joseph led a stirring West Indies resurgence after tea as the visitors hit back against South Africa in the final session, on the opening day on Tuesday.
With the hosts coasting 221-1 after choosing to bat first, Joseph landed some telling blows to dismiss century-maker Aiden Markram for 115 and captain Temba Bavuma for a second-ball ‘duck’, as West Indies captured seven wickets for 108 runs. The home side closed on 314-8.
Joseph so far has 3-60 and had earlier in the second session accounted for former captain Dean Elgar for 71, after the left-hander put on 141 with Markram for the first wicket.
Left-hander Tony de Zorzi on debut got a start with 28 while Heinrich Klaasen chipped in with a breezy 20 but South Africa struggled late against some unrelenting and accurate West Indies bowling.
“I think it was pretty crucial we got those wickets in the back end because you didn’t really want the game to get too far ahead of you,” Joseph told the media after the day’s exchanges. “Because then you will have to chase it too much tomorrow or on day three, and you never know how the wicket is going to react.” He added: “I think it was just a little difference in the wicket. It quickened up, so it gave their batsmen a little less time to adjust, because earlier it was pretty tacky, so when you bowled that good length, it was easier for the batsman to adjust.”
CRUCIAL WICKETS
Markram, in his first Test in seven months, led the scoring for South Africa, with 18 fours off 174 balls to post his sixth Test hundred while Elgar counted 11 fours in a knock that required only 118 balls.
Little changed after lunch, the pair continuing to score freely until Joseph got the breakthrough with the drinks break approaching – Elgar attempting to uppercut a short ball and picking out Blackwood moving back at third man.
Markram found an ally in de Zorzi to post an additional 80 for the second wicket and take South Africa to tea without further loss. Unbeaten on 97 at the interval, Markram reached his century in the second over following the resumption, when he punched Joseph to the point boundary.
SENSATIONAL YORKER
In Joseph’s next over, de Zorzi was run out thanks to some alert work from Tagenarine Chanderpaul on the boundary. Two balls later, Joseph struck Bavuma plumb in front and he then claimed the key wicket of Markram with a sensation yorker.
This left South Africa at 236-4, and they then had a 26-run fifth wicket stand between Klaasen and Keegan Petersen (14) before the floodgates opened again. Klaasen, who struck four fours off 20 balls, was cramped by a short one from Shannon Gabriel and tugged a pull to Joseph running around from mid-on, and Senuran Muthusamy followed for three with nine runs added, lbw offering no shot to seamer Kemar Roach.
Petersen was seventh out, leg-before playing across to Mayers and left-hander Kagiso Rabada edged a catch to Blackwood at second slip to give Jason Holder his 149th Test wicket.
Play will resume on Wednesday at 10 am (4 am Eastern Caribbean/3 am Jamaica).