The South African pacers showed clinical display of bowling as India stumbled to 53/3 on Lunch at Day 1 of the second test. India won the toss and coasted along to 32 for 0 at the first drinks break. Mayank was positive and Rahul dropped anchor - there were plays and misses, the captain for the Test survived an early review, but it did look comfortable. Jansen sent back Mayank first ball after the break and the complexion of the game changed.
Rahul and Pujara were peppered with short stuff, both looked harried by the steep bounce off the wicket, especially Pujara and he didn't survive the barrage, lobbing a simple catch to gully off Olivier. Earlier, India's bid to win their first-ever Test series on South Africa soil suffered a setback as captain Virat Kohli was ruled out of the Johannesburg Test before the toss. KL Rahul and later the BCCI, through a media release, revealed that Virat Kohli had a spasm on his upper back on the morning of the second Test. In Kohli's absence, KL Rahul has been given the task to lead the team while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been appointed the vice-captain for the second Test.
