Chase Hatchery Group

A fighting unbeaten half-century from skipper Temba Bavuma and a second four-fer in the match from Simon Harmer saw South Africa beat India in the opening Test in Kolkata. Despite being on the backfoot by stumps on the second day, the world champions came up with a spirited performance on the third day to secure a 30-run win and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Resuming at 93/7, South Africa pinned their hopes on Bavuma to drag their lead to at least a three-figure score which looked like a herculean task given the nature of the surface. But with Corbin Bosch for company, Bavuma managed to keep South Africa afloat. The first boundary of the day came from Bosch who swept Ravindra Jadeja firmly. India did review for a decision against Bavuma in Jadeja's following over but to no avail. Bosch then welcomed Kuldeep Yadav into the attack with another boundary as South Africa continued to add valuable runs.

Bosch then connected a slog sweep to smash Kuldeep over the ropes that took the lead past 100 to slowly drift the pressure back on India. However, Jasprit Bumrah ended the frustrating stand with a nip-backer that didn't bounce much to crash into the stumps. Bavuma then became the first batter to score a half-century in the Test match before Mohammed Siraj wrapped up the South African resistance with the final two wickets in the same over that left the opposition skipper stranded at the non-striker's end.