Kagiso Rabada of South Africa claimed five wickets, but KL Rahul’s battling performance kept Indian hopes alive on the opening day of the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday.
India were 208 for eight as terrible light and rain forced an early end.
Rabada collected five wickets for 44 runs, his 14th in Test cricket.
Rahul, who scored a century to help India win at the same venue two years ago, was undefeated on 70.
Rabada was superb for the hosts when they put India in to bat on a ground that had been covered due to rain for 40 hours before to the match.
However, South Africa did not fully capitalize on favorable circumstances. Nandre Burger, a left-arm fast bowler, impressed in his debut Test appearance, taking two early wickets, but neither Marco Jansen nor Gerald Coetzee could establish continuous control.
Rabada and Burger reduced India to 24 for three, and India might have been in much more danger had South Africa not dropped opportunities from Virat Kohli (38) and Shreya Iyer (31) in the early stages of a partnership that delivered 68 runs for the fourth wicket.
Iyer was on four when Jansen dropped him at backward point off Rabada, and Kohli was on four when Tony de Zorzi lost him at midwicket off Burger in the following ball.
Rabada bowled a three-wicket session just after noon, dismissing both set batsmen as well as Ravichandran Ashwin.
Iyer was caught behind with a fantastic delivery that swung away late before Ashwin was caught at third slip off a steeply-lifting delivery.
Rahul and Shardul Thakur (24) put up 43 for the seventh wicket, but Thakur required treatment on the field twice, first after being struck on the helmet by Coetzee and again when Rabada returned for his third stint.
After being treated for his second injury, Thakur hit a wayward drive that was caught at mid-off by stand-in skipper Dean Elgar.
Rahul played calmly and contributed 41 of the 44 runs scored for the loss of Jasprit Bumrah’s wicket after Thakur’s departure. Rahul had faced 105 balls and struck ten fours and two sixes when play was called off.
Elgar, who has declared his retirement from international cricket after the second Test in Cape Town next Monday, took over when Temba Bavuma departed the field before lunch with a strained left hamstring.
According to a South African dressing room bulletin, “daily medical evaluations to determine his participation in the match” will take place.
Bavuma’s choice to bowl first was unsurprising considering the weather conditions in the days preceding up to the match – yet it is a pitch where batting has traditionally been more difficult later in matches due to inconsistent bounce.