A ferocious spell of bowling by pacer Mohammad Siraj put India in the driving seat against South Africa on the first day of the second Test in Cape Town.
By the time this story was filed, South Africa were reeling at 46-7 with Siraj the chief destroyer with the ball. The right-armer has already claimed six wickets for 15 runs while bowling nine overs on the trot.
Siraj claimed the wickets of Dean Elgar (4), Aiden Markram (2), Tony de Zorzi (2), David Bedingham (12), Kyle Verreynne (15) and Marco Jansen (0).
Earlier, South Africa captain Dean Elgar opted to bat first in the second and final Test against India at Newlands on Wednesday.
The hosts are eyeing a series sweep against the number one side in the world.
South Africa made three changes to the team after winning the first Test by an innings and 32 runs in Pretoria.
Middle order batter Tristan Stubbs makes his debut in the place of injured regular captain Temba Bavuma.
Spinner Keshav Maharaj received his 50th cap in the place of injured Gerald Coetzee and seamer Lungi Ngidi replaced Keegan Petersen.
"It looks an interesting wicket, a few snakes in it, hopefully it comes to the fore when we bowl," Elgar said. "It is a big hurdle for us and a big test, this is our marquee game for the season. We have to start well."
India captain Rohit Sharma admitted he would have batted first had he won the toss as the visitors made two changes.
Fit again left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja replaces Ravichandran Ashwin, while seamer Mukesh Kumar comes features instead of Shardul Thakur.
"There will be enough in the pitch for the seamers, so hopefully we can cash in on it," Rohit said. "It is important for us to forget what has happened in the past, it is about the present."
The match is a final in his 12-year Test career for Elgar, who decided to bring the curtain down ahead of the series.
Teams
South Africa: Dean Elgar (capt.), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi
India: Rohit Sharma (capt.), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar.
