Day 2 of the first test started as a gripping affair, with four wickets falling in the morning session, leaving India at 138 for 4 at lunch and trailing South Africa by 21 runs. South Africa’s superb bowling attack, led by spinner Simon Harmer and pacer Corbin Bosch, continuously chipped away at the Indian lineup to stay firmly in the contest on a pitch that continues to offer assistance to the bowlers.
The morning began with KL Rahul and Washington Sundar at the crease, quickly bringing up a 50-run partnership. Rahul started the day by guiding a boundary past second slip to bring up a personal milestone: becoming the 18th Indian to reach 4,000 runs in test cricket in his 115th innings. However, South Africa quickly broke the partnership.
Off-spinner Simon Harmer turned a delivery away from the southpaw Sundar, who edged the ball to the slip fielder, departing for 28. Moments later, KL Rahul fell to a classic left-arm turner from Keshav Maharaj, for 39, which pitched and turned away, taking the edge to Markram at slip.
The wickets continued to fall. Captain Shubman Gill retired hurt after hitting a boundary and hurting his neck, leaving the field visibly uncomfortable, much to the crowd's disappointment. This brought Rishabh Pant out to the middle, his first Test appearance since The Oval Test. Pant, showed his usual aggression by hitting a six off Maharaj, and lived dangerously, missing a clear edge that went past Markram for four.
South Africa eventually capitalized on Pant’s intent when seamer Corbin Bosch delivered a clever bouncer. Pant attempted to pull the delivery, which took the top edge and was caught by the keeper, sending the left-hander back to the pavilion. His wicket brought Dhruv Jurel; selected as a specialist batter, to the crease just six minutes before the lunch break. He started his first ball with a boundary, and managed to survive the final over.
South Africa’s bowling attack, successfully prevented the Indian batters from accelerating the scoring rate, a tactic India often uses to keep the game in its pocket, however, India now faces a critical afternoon session to post a respectable total, with the pitch indicating that anything above 250 would be a great score.