A total of 23 wickets fell on the first day of the second Test between South Africa and India, which was an exciting and action-packed day one. This is the second highest number of wickets to fall on the first day of a Test. South Africa chose to bat first on the opening day in Cape Town, but they were dismissed in the first session. India was next, and they got off to a far better start, but they were also dismissed due to a late batting collapse. The Proteas lost three wickets in the latter part of their third innings. 25 wickets fell on the first day of a Test match between Australia and England in 1902, setting a record for most wickets in a test match.
The first Test between Australia and England in 1888 saw the most wickets ever to fall in a single day of a test match. Additionally, India made history by being the first team to lose six straight wickets without generating a run. India once scored 153/4. But India was bowled out for 153 in less than ten balls. With six ducks in their innings, India tied the record for most ducks in a single Test innings by a team when Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Prasidh Krishna were all out for ducks.
Other teams to do so are Bangladesh (against West Indies in Dhaka back in 2002), South Africa (against India in Ahmedabad in 1996), New Zealand (against Pakistan back in 2018 at Dubai), and Pakistan (against West Indies at Karachi in 1980). Prior to the game, South Africa chose to bat first. They were bowled out for just 55 runs in 23.2 overs, with the only two players to reach double digits being Kyle Verreynne (15) and David Bedingham (12). Proteas’ top and middle order collapsed under Mohammed Siraj’s explosive 6/15 spell, which also included wickets from Jasprit Bumrah (2/25) and Mukesh Kumar (0/2).
India was 153/4 at one point in their first innings thanks to strong scores from Shubman Gill (36 in 55 balls, five fours), Rohit Sharma (39 in 50 balls, seven fours), and Virat Kohli (46 in 59 balls, six fours and a six). However, a three-wicket over from Lungi Ngidi saw India out of the game in 34.5 overs. For South Africa, Ngidi (3/30), Kagiso Rabada (3/38) and Nandre Burger (3/42) each claimed three wickets. With the majority of their day’s scoring coming from Aiden Markram (36*), SA concluded the day at 62/3 later in their second innings. Dean Elgar, the captain, scored 12 runs in his last innings of the Test. Bumrah took one wicket, while Mukesh took two.
