India vs South Africa, day one talking points: Joy for purists, Rohit's brain-freeze, Rahane's brilliance

For the first time in the Freedom series between India and South Africa, the number of wickets that fell on the first day of the Test did not reach double figures. In the 11th innings of the series, India reached the highest team total so far, reaching 231 for 7 at the close of play, going past the previous highest of 215. And possibly for the first time this series, the pitch was not at the center of attention at the end of an exciting day of Test cricket.

Here are three talking points from the first day at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

First session of good, old-fashioned Test cricket:

For cricket purists, the first session was a delight to watch. Having won his fourth toss in a row, Virat Kohli decided to bat first under cloudy skies on a chilly day in Delhi. Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay stuck to Sunil Gavaskar’s fabled ‘give the first hour to the bowler’ mantra as Kyle Abbott and Morne Morkel bowled excellent lines and lengths to give India hardly an inch with the first 12 overs going for 16 runs.

To his credit, Dhawan looked determined not to touch anything outside his off-stump early on. Vijay, believe it or not, was the shakier of the two openers. Abbott troubled him with his line just outside off and moving the ball mostly in to the right hander and the odd one away – one such away-swinger saw Vijay edge to the slips, only for the third umpire to rule it a no-ball. Abbott stuck to his task, bruising and beating Vijay all-ends-up.

Dane Piedt, the off-spinner whose action looks an awful lot like JP Duminy’s, reaped the rewards for Abbott’s pressure. Morkel was seen giving Abbott multiple pats on the back when the team was celebrating Vijay’s wicket. It was a classic case of bowlers hunting in pairs.

It was a battle of attrition, as Hashim Amla seemed content to give India the easy singles, but restricted the boundaries. Dhawan also grew in confidence after the first hour, finding his feet against Morkel and co as India reached 60 for 1 at lunch – a classic case of a Test session shared by both teams.

Frustrating Rohit Sharma is frustrating

He might not like fans and pundits calling  his style of play lazy and high-risk, but Rohit Sharma’s dismissal on the first day at the Kotla is exactly why he is the most frustrating Indian batsman (in Tests). Sidestepping the use of the “T” word, there is no denying that Rohit is a strokemaker beyond excellence. But that ugly hoick he played 20 minutes before tea to Piedt, having been dropped just a few minutes ago by Amla, is a shot that will consign his fans to tearing their hair out.

As it stands, it is very unlikely Kohli will continue to play six proper batsmen and four bowlers in Tests on very many occasions. Rohit just threw away a chance to make a case for his captain to do so, more regularly.

Rahane rights a wrong

Ajinkya Rahane made his debut against Australia, incidentally the last time India played a Test at the Kotla, and had a forgettable outing – his scores read 7 and 1 – throwing away his wicket on both occasions. His scores in Test matches played in India since read 15, 2, 13 and 9. His home form in Tests was an anomaly, a monkey on his back, as India predominantly travelled away from home for Tests after his debut.

In his unbeaten innings of 89 on the first day of the fourth Test, Rahane took the first step to addressing the anomaly. A near-flawless innings, played at a very high tempo right from the word go, saw Rahane take India to relative safety at the end of day one.

The top order, after the attritional first session, failed yet again. Kohli looked back to his best before falling to a bizarre (and unlucky) dismissal. A well-hit sweep shot off Piedt hit the short leg fielder flush on the thigh, looped up in the air and the keeper reacted quickest to take a diving catch.

But the captain, along with Rahane, put on a crucial 70-run stand after a bad start to the second session when India lost Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara. Both Rahane and Kohli showed great intent, cracking boundaries square of the wicket on either side. Rohit perished 20 minutes before tea followed by Wriddhiman Saha, leaving India struggling at 139 for 6.

Rahane then took charge of the situation. He made 58 (off the next 92 runs) in 90 balls, dealing predominantly in boundaries. He was severe on the spinners Imran Tahir and Piedt, every time they erred in length.

A six off Piedt over midwicket was off the same ball that got Rohit – full, flighted, pitching right underneath the batsman’s nose. Rahane, unlike Rohit, got down on his knees and got underneath the ball, and cleared midwicket with ease.

He still has a big role to play if India have to get to a good enough total on a pitch with enough value for strokes for the batsmen. But on Thursday, perhaps more importantly, Rahane took the first step towards what will hopefully be a run of good Test innings on home soil.