Pacemen have a field day on a wicked pitch
Philander celebrates 50th Test with sublime spell
The Wanderers pitch may still have time to parade its apparent iniquity, but SA cultivated its devilry perfectly to bundle India out for 187 in 76 overs on the first day of the third and final Test on Wednesday. It was not all plain sailing for the hosts as they lost Aiden Markram (two) to Bhuvneshwar Kumar but nightwatchman Kagiso Rabada (0) and Dean Elgar (four) saw off the threat to end the day on 6/1. When Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat, he must have primed himself with the challenge of batting in vile conditions. The clouds were pregnant, with lateral movement in the air. The green-tinged but well-paced surface menaced the visitors. Parts of Kohli’s 106-ball knock were chancy and he benefited from two lives gifted by Vernon Philander on 11 and AB de Villiers on 32 off Kagiso Rabada and Morné Morkel. However, Kohli (54) also looked the most comfortable Indian batsman and some of his cover drives and punches down the ground would have made the MCC coaching manual gre...
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