Kolkata, Nov 14 (IANS) India closed the opening day of the first Test against South Africa at 37/1 in 20 overs and trail by 122 runs after Jasprit Bumrah’s sharp five-wicket haul had earlier skittled the visitors for 159 in their first innings at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.

Before bad light brought an early end to the proceedings in the final session, India lost opener Yashasvi Jaiswal cheaply. But KL Rahul (13 not out) and newly-established number three Washington Sundar (six not out) ensured there was no further damage before the proceedings were stopped prematurely for the day.

The pair batted cautiously, adding 19 runs in an unbroken stand for the second wicket on a surface that continued to show variable

Earlier, Bumrah’s incisive 5-27 dismantled South Africa’s batting order after they had raced to 57 for no loss. The visitors lost all of their ten wickets for just 102 runs, leaving India in control at the close of day one.

The crowd of around 35,000 spectators roared firmly for Bumrah through his fiery two-over burst after tea. Their anticipation was rewarded as Bumrah completed his five-wicket haul, as South Africa also recorded their second-lowest first-innings score against India and squandered the advantage of winning the toss.

The post-tea session began with Bumrah getting one to jag back in and rattle Simon Harmer’s off-stump. Three balls later, Bumrah produced a searing inswinging yorker to trap Keshav Maharaj lbw for a duck, with Tristan Stubbs left seeing the carnage unfold by being unbeaten on 15.

On a challenging two-paced pitch with uneven bounce, Jaiswal took 15 balls to get off the mark — a drive off Marco Jansen through long-off, giving him the boundary. After two more boundaries, Jaiswal’s stay ended on 12 when he chopped onto his stumps off Jansen. Rahul, meanwhile, remained watchful, scoring just one run off his first 14 deliveries before leaning forward into a drive off Wiaan Mulder.

Sundar, the new number three batter, survived a testing spell early on and grew more assured as the session progressed. Though Jansen, Mulder, and Corbin Bosch kept things tight with the new ball, while spinners Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer found turn, Rahul and Washington maintained their discipline nicely.

Bad light eventually forced play to end at 4:35 pm, with Bumrah being the headline of the day through his 16th five-wicket-haul spell, giving India control on the opening day of the contest.

Brief scores:

South Africa 159 all out in 55 overs (Aiden Markram 31, Ryan Rickelton 23; Jasprit Bumrah 5-27, Kuldeep Yadav 2-36) lead India 37/1 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 13 not out, Yashasvi Jaiswal 12; Marco Jansen 1-11) by 122 runs

–IANS

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