South Africa Vs India, 1st Test, Day 1: Kagiso Rabada Fifer, KL Rahul's Resolute Knock Headline Proceedings In Centurion Before Play Is Called Off Due To Rain; IND - 208/8 (59 Overs) - As It Happened

World Cup is done and dusted now as Team India gear up for some red-ball cricket action as they take on South Africa in Centurion in the ICC World Test Championship. India were asked to bat first in the forecast conditions and three early wickets kept India under pressure but Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer tried to hold the innings for some time. But after Lunch, Rabada dismissed Kohli with a beauty of an outswinger after getting Iyer with a nip backer that lingered a touch low. Then, with India reeling at 121/6, Ashwin succumbed to a beast of a delivery that sprang out of nowhere. But, KL Rahul remained on the other side and completed his fifty and with the tailender, took India past 200 runs on Day 1 before rain stopped play and subsequently, Umpires called it a day after continuous rain and light issues. Check the highlights of the IND Vs RSA, 1st Test Day 1, here. (Scorecard | Day 1 Report | Full Coverage)

8:15 PM: Day 1 - Stumps
Today's play has been called off. With the light waning and the rain continuing, it was always on the cards. So the umpires call it a day after 59 overs of thrilling Test cricket on Boxing Day. A day that began with some disciplined seam bowling from Kagiso Rabada in cloudy circumstances that posed some issues for the Indians. Nandre Burger took the wickets of Jaiswal and Gill after Rohit got out trying to pull. India was revitalised by Iyer and Kohli, who were both given new lives before Rabada returned after lunch for a spectacular run of bowling.

7:58 PM: Rain Stops Play
KL Rahul fast-forwarded his batting speed and collected runs rapidly after completing his fifty. Jasprit Bumrah gave good support but Marco Jansen bowled him in the 55th over. Mohammed Siraj replaced him at the crease. He remained on zero runs when the Umpires paused the play and advised players to go to the pavilion. Rahul didn't leave any opportunity to score runs whenever any bad ball came to his radar. Rahul is unbeaten on 70 off 105 balls.

IND - 208/8 (59)

7:25 PM: IND - 191/8 (51-55 Overs Highlights)
KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah restarted their innings after the break of Tea. KL Rahul took no time to complete his half-century and after hitting back-to-back boundaries on Nandre Burger, he completed his milestone. Jasprit Bumrah also supported him well and took singles when required until Marco Jansen bowled him in the last over of this phase. KL Rahul has taken the responsibility of playing most balls in the over and he is also finding ways to collect more runs. Mohammed Siraj is the new man at the crease and KL Rahul is trying to take more strikes.

6:40 PM: IND - 176/7 (44-50 Overs Highlights)
KL Rahul and Shardul Thakur fought bravely. The South African bowlers kept bowling the body line side and Thakur looked in distress because of that. Coetzee hit his helmet and physio had to come to check. Rabada also hit his arm and the physio came again. After some icepack and bandages, Thakur resumed the play but Rabada struck his wicket on the very next delivery. Marco Jansen was seen saying something to KL Rahul after he hit him for a six and a four in the same over. Jasprit Bumrah is the new man at the crease and KL will be looking to gather as many runs as possible from this phase of the Indian innings.

6:30 PM: Rabada Completes Fifer!
Shardul Thakur fought hard with the bat. First, Gerald Coetzee hit him on his helmet, then Rabada hit him on his arm. The physio came with the ice packs. Shardul looked in pain. Some taping on the biceps and Shardul was ready to play the next ball but Rabada dismissed him with a simple catch by Dean Elgar at short mid-off. Kagiso Rabda completed his first fiffer against India in the Tests. He also surpassed Allan Donald's tally of 177 wickets in South Africa with six fewer Tests.

IND - 165/7 (47)

6:20 PM: Temba Bavuma Injury Update
The scans indicated a left hamstring injury, and he will be evaluated regularly to assess his participation in the match.

6:10 PM: Gerald Coetzee Hits Shardul Thakur On Helmet
The physio is out there performing the required concussion tests. The umpires keep a careful eye on everything. The physiotherapist is massaging the swelling area of the head. Thakur is good to go after that inspection. Thakur gets a new helmet.

5:56 PM: IND - 155/6 (34-43 Overs Highlights)
After Virat Kohli's wicket, Ashwin came and hit a couple of boundaries off Rabada then he charged back and got the wicket of Indian veteran spinner with a smearing bouncer. Shardul Thakur joined KL Rahul after that and both looked in control for most of their inning. Shardul hit a couple of boundaries in between and KL also kept rotating the strike. Both batters are looking to rebuild the Indian innings from here.

5:20 PM: Rabada On Fire!
Kagiso Rabada is taking wickets for fun. First, he bowled Shreyas Iyer then dismissed Virat Kohli and now he has removed Ravichandran Ashwin as well. Ashwin hit him two boundaries in his last over. Rabada set up and then took his wicket with a deadly out-swinging bouncer. Substitute fielder Wiaan Mulder takes the catch above his head. 

IND - 121/6 (35)

5:15 PM: IND - 115/5 (27-33 Overs Highlights)
Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer were removed by the Fiery Kagiso Rabada soon after the lunch break. Shreyas Iyer got late to play the ball and allowed it to hit his wickets in the first over after lunch. KL Rahul came at no. 6. Virat Kohli also spent some time with him but soon got caught behind on Rabada's delivery. Rabad has three wickets in the match now and all wickets are of important players. Ravichandran Ashwin is now at the crease with KL Raul. Ashwin smashed Rabada for two boundaries in the last over.

4:40 PM: Rabada Gets Iyer!
Right after the Lunch Break, Kagiso Rabada got the wicket of set batter Shreyas Iyer when he bowled him on the last delivery of the 27th over. Iyer was late to play the ball that kept low and went right between his pads and bat. KL Rahul replaced him at the crease. 

IND - 92/4 (27)

4:00 PM: IND - 91/3 (19-26 Overs Highlights)
At lunchtime in Centurion, India are in stable condition after a shaky start. Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer batted well and kept the scorecard moving. Both played the fast bowlers with caution and also kept hitting the boundaries. Iyer smashed Gerald Coetzee for a six and Kohli hit a beautiful boundary on the bowling of Marco Jansen.

3:25 PM: IND - 55/3 (13-18 Overs Highlights)
Shreyas Iyer was dropped on Rabada's delivery, however, it was a tough chance and the ball went to the boundaries. In the next over, Kohli got dropped for a tough chance as well on Burger's delivery this time. Both batters released the pressure with some boundaries. Kohli smashed two boundaries in Nandre Burger's over. Gerald Coetzee and Marco Jansen are introduced into the attack now.

2:58 PM: IND - 34/3 (7-12 Overs Highlights)
Jaiswal and Gill spent some time at the crease but never looked settled. The Proteas bowlers never gave any easy chances to score runs. Debutand Nandre Burger was introduced into the attack and Jaiswal hit him for a boundary. He removed Jaiswal with a good outswinger. Virat Kohli came to the crease and Gill looked struggling for runs. Burger also took his wicket with a successful review when he was caught behind. Shreyas Iyer is the new man at the crease.

2:45 PM: Jaiswal Falls Early!
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who was looking in good touch, fell in the trap of debutant Nandre Burger and became his first Test wicket. Burger set him up for the inside deliveries but bowled an outswinger that took the edge and went back for an easy catch. India two down and now Virat Kohli is at the crease with Shubman Gill.

IND - 23/2 (10)

2:30 PM: IND - 17/1 (0-6 Overs Highlights)
After being asked to bat first, Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal started the innings cautiously, but Kagiso Rabada kept hitting good length deliveries and created some problems for both the batters. Finally, Rabada got the wicket of the Indian captain when he tried to pull the short-length delivery but holed out to Nandre Burger at short fine leg. Shubman Gill joined Jaiswal at the crease.

2:00 PM: India Start Batting
Indian captain Rohit Sharma along with Yashasvi Jaiswal came out to bat. Kagiso Rabada opened the attack with the ball. Jaiswal took the strike and played the first five balls for no run. The last delivery of Rabada was too full and Jaiswal played it in the Square leg region to open the account with a boundary.

IND - 4/0 (1)

1:50 PM: Toss Update

South Africa have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma(c), Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

1:45 PM: Prasidh Krishna Makes Debut
Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna has been handed over the Test cap by Indian Test vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah, before the toss.

12:50 PM: Toss Delayed
Word coming in from the ground is that the toss has been delayed due to wet patches along the ground. There was plenty of overnight rain at Centurion, so we will be in for a bit of a delay.

12:12 PM: All Eyes On Centurion Weather
Despite all the talk of cricket, there's also a major focus on the weather at Centurion. Rain might play spoilsport with showers forecasted on day one of action between India and South Africa. Read more about the pitch and weather report right here

12:06 PM: Hello And Welcome To Our Live Coverage
Post Xmas cheers, it's time for some sporting action. Greetings as we bring to you the live coverage between India and South Africa at Centurion in the Boxing Day Test match.

Squads:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk), Abhimanyu Easwaran (2nd Test).

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Tristan Stubbs (wk), Nandre Burger, Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, David Bedingham.