STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsThe day was an absolute mayhem. South Africa were bundled out for just 55 runs in the first session of the day’s play. Mohammed Siraj was the chief destructor, breathing fire over the Proteas' top order. He registered his best Test figures and helped India write a few records.
India took the lead but consistently lost wickets.
Then, a mother of all collapses came when KL Rahul was dismissed in the 34th over. From 153/4, India tumbled to 153 all-out. With a lead of 98, India had the upper hand, but what a crazy day of cricket it has been at The Newlands, Cape Town. Here is a list of a few stats from the day that witnessed 23 wickets:
Collapsed like a house of cards
-India were in a comfortable position when Rahul and Virat Kohli were at the crease. They were 98 runs ahead with six wickets in hand. But what happened next was unimaginable. They lost six wickets for ZERO runs, ZERO!!!
In Test history, this is the worst-ever collapse for a team. India became the first team to lose six wickets on a particular score.
- Six Indian batters, four from seven to ten, suffered ducks in their innings. These are the joint most ducks in an innings for India in Tests. Their other innings came against England in 2014 in Manchester. Duck tale.
Wickets day out
- In total, 23 wickets fell on the first day of the 2nd Test, the joint-most in any day’s play in South Africa.
In the 2011 Test between South Africa and Australia, 23 wickets fell on Day 2, but 294 runs were scored.
- Only once in a match between Australia and England in Melbourne in 1902 did more wickets fall on the opening day of the Test than today (January 3).
-In Tests since 1951, this is only the second time that 20 or more wickets have fallen on the opening day of a Test match. The other was between England and Ireland in 2019 at Lord’s.
-In a Test involving India, only in their match against Afghanistan in Bengaluru in 2018, more wickets fell on a day’s play - 24 on Day 2.
- On Test debut, Tristan Stubbs was dismissed twice on Day 1, joining Harry Butt in 1896. The England wicket-keeper batted as a number 11 in the first innings (1) and opened in the second to be dismissed for a duck against South Africa in Gqeberha.
Siraj wrecks havoc
-With a spell of 6/15, Siraj recorded his career-best spell in Tests. He now has three five-wicket hauls, all in different countries - Australia - 5/53, West Indies - 5/60.
-He became the second Indian after Maninder Singh in 1987 against Pakistan in Bengaluru, to bag a five-for in the first session of Day 1 of a Test.
In this century (Since 2000), he was the ninth bowler to achieve this feat. The last bowler to a five-wicket-haul in the first session of Day 1 was Ireland's Tim Murtagh against England in 2019 at Lord's.
-The 15 runs conceded by Siraj in his six-wicket haul are the second-least runs given away by an Indian pacer in a five-for in Tests. Jasprit Bumrah bagged his five-for against West Indies giving away just FIVE runs.
-Siraj bowled just nine overs for his six-for, the least overs by an Indian for a six-for. Venkatesh Prasad, against Pakistan in Chennai, had bowled 10.2 overs for his spell of 6/33.
-Only two Indian bowlers, Shardul Thakur in 2022 (7/61) and Harbhajan Singh in 2011 (7/120), have better spells than Siraj in South Africa.
A grand collapse
-In Tests against India, no other team has been dismissed for a lower total than South Africa (55) in this game. The previous lowest total against India was by New Zealand in 2021 (62).
-In Tests since 1932, this has been South Africa's lowest total. In the 1932 Test against Australia in Melbourne, they were dismantled for 36 in the first innings and 45 in the second.
-The top four batters' scores in this innings read: Markram - 2, Elgar - 4, de Zorzi - 2, & Stubbs - 3. This was only the fourth innings in which South Africa's top four were dismissed for five or fewer runs. The last such instance dates back to 1932 (Melbourne).
-In a home Test, the last time South Africa lost four wickets for less than 15 runs in an innings was in 1902, against Australia, which also happened at the same venue.
In total, there have been only three instances: Against England in 1889, against Australia in 1902, and against India today.
-South Africa were six down for a score of 35. Since 1932, they have lost six wickets for less than 35 runs only twice, and both times have come against India. In 2015, they were 6/35 in Nagpur.
-South Africa were bundled out in the first session of Day 1 for the first time in their Test career (where ball data is available).
The last team to be dismissed before lunch on the first day of a Test was England in 2019 at Lord's against Ireland.
