Live Report - South Africa vs India, 2nd Test, Cape Town

After being troubled by a couple of short balls, Iyer lofts one down the ground for four to wrap up a seven-wicket win for India. Lasting just 642 balls, it's the shortest Test ever to produce a result in Test history.

Not the way Elgar wanted to finish his Test career but he is out there thanking the crowd. The Indian players, too, congratulate him.

So that's it from this Test, and South Africa remains the final frontier for India.

We will leave you with a teaser from the report:

Jasprit Bumrah’s 6 for 61 paved the way for India’s seven-wicket win on the second day of the second Test in Cape Town, enabling them to level the two-match series 1-1.

After South Africa were bowled out for 176 in their second innings, India chased down the required 79 runs an hour before tea. Lasting just 107 overs, this was the shortest Test ever to produce a result. It was also India's first Test win at Newlands in seven attempts.

But before all that, Aiden Markram scored a stunning hundred – 106 off 103 balls. It was the first time in Test history that a batter scored a hundred where none of his team-mates reached 20 in either innings; Kyle Verreynne's 15 in the first innings was the next best for South Africa. Unfortunately for Markram and Dean Elgar, who retires after this Test, it ended in a losing cause.

Jansen strangles him down the leg side. It wasn't given on the field but South Africa got the decision overturned on review.

Shreyas Iyer is the new batter. With India needing just four, Rohit asks him to "finish it off".

Rabada has picked up his first wicket in this innings. After Bedingham shelled a difficult chance at deep third and Gill smashed the next ball through covers, Rabada had the last laugh. A length ball didn't rise as expected, took the bottom edge of Gill's bat and castled him.

India 58/2, needing another 21 with Rohit and Kohli in the middle.

As expected, Rohit and Jaiswal have gone for their shots straightaway. Not many came from the middle of the bat but they added 44 in 5.4 overs before Burger had Jaiswal caught at deep-backward square leg. It was a short ball and Jaiswal went for the hook. In the process, he slipped and his pad even brushed the stumps but the bail didn't come off. But Burger had his man anyway.

India 44/1, needing another 35

Welcome back. So India need 79 to level the series 1-1. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are in the middle and will be looking to be positive.

South Africa need Kagiso Rabada and Co to trigger a collapse similar to 6 for 0.

At the stroke of lunch, Bumrah finishes things off as Ngidi edges one to Jaiswal at third slip. Bumrah ended with figures of 6 for 61 but not before South Africa's last pair, Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi, added 14 crucial runs.

South Africa 176 all out, setting India a target of 79. And it's lunch in Cape Town. We will be back in a bit. Don't go far away.

It's Siraj who finally gets Markram as the batter goes for a big hit once again. It was on the shorter side of good length and Markram looked to pull it away. Instead, he ended up skying it towards long-off where Rohit settled under it and then threw the ball into the ground in frustration.

Markram walks back to a standing ovation. He made 106 off 103.

In the next over, Rabada hits one straight to mid-off.

South Africa 162/9, leading by 64

What an innings. Back-to-back fours off Bumrah and Markram brings up a stupendous hundred. Elgar is pumped in the dressing room and Markram too dedicates the hundred to his captain.

Markram was on 73 when KL Rahul had dropped him off Bumrah. How costly will that prove to be?

South Africa 158/7, leading by 60

With Rabada at the other end, Markram has decided to go on an all-out attack. Prasidh Krishna finds him in the firing line with Markram hitting him for two fours and two sixes in a 20-run over. He moves to 94.

South Africa 149/7, leading by 51

Keshav Maharaj doesn't last long either. He chases a full delivery from Bumrah only to edge it to gully. Bumrah has five now, four this morning.

Markram, meanwhile, has added two more glorious boundaries to his tally.

South Africa 117/7, leading by 19

Aiden Markram is on his way to become the batter he was destined to be. Last year, he completed the transformation in white-ball cricket, capping it off with a successful World Cup. He is not yet at the same level in Test cricket, but this innings has been as good as any he will ever play. On a treacherous surface, he has played some pristine shots. The drives through extra cover have brought him a majority of his runs, but for me, the standout shot has been the punch off the back foot, riding the bounce and hitting it through cover and cover-point. That has actually forced India to have a sweeper cover. But just now, Mukesh bowled one slightly full, and Markram brought out the extra-cover drive once more to bring up his fifty.

At the other end, Jansen found a lucky boundary but a stunning return catch by Bumrah sent him back.

South Africa 103/6, leading by 5

And Bumrah has three now.

With a couple of streaky boundaries, South Africa had scored 23 in the first four overs this morning and cut down India's lead to 13. But when Verreynne tried to pull a length ball from outside off, he ended up skying it towards mid-on where Mohammed Siraj took a straightforward catch.

Marco Jansen is the new batter, and he too finds a lucky boundary.

South Africa 91/5, trailing by 7

It's Mukesh, and not Siraj, who is bowling from the other end. After two balls, he feels there is an issue with the landing area. Looks like there's a divot where his front foot lands. Both Rohit and the umpire are asking him about the issue. After a bit of discussion, a groundsman runs in with a hammer to do the repair work.

And we are good to go.

It took just six balls for India to strike on the second morning. David Bedingham came out with a positive mindset. He went after Bumrah's second ball, which was just short of good length, and ended up top-edging a pull over the slip cordon for four. He had a wry smile on his face after the shot, as well as two balls later when he was beaten outside off.

To end over, Bumrah pitched one on the good length in the channel outside off stump. Bedingham, looking to be positive, went for a drive on the up and edged it behind.

South Africa 66/4, trailing by 32

Welcome back. It's day 2 and most likely to be the final day of this two-match Test series. Yesterday, 23 wickets fell with India bowling out South Africa for 55 and then losing 6 for 0 to collapse from 153 for 4 to 153 all out. That meant we had the third starting on the first day itself. South Africa started much better this time and reached 62 for 3 at stumps with Markram unbeaten on 36. They are still trailing by 36.

Given the inconsistent bounce, talks have already started about the pitch being poor. "It generally plays a little bit slower and, as a batter, you can adjust to that," Dean Elgar, who will retire after this match, said after the day's play. "This one just seemed to get quicker as the session went on."

In the middle of all that, Virat Kohli played yet another mini-classic. Sidharth Monga has got more on that here.

I am Hemant Brar and will bring you all the news, views, stats and colour from the day 2.

Twenty-three wickets in a day.

Only four times in the entire history of Test cricket - which spans 146 years and over 2500 matches - has there been more damage done than that.

There is already talk around the nature of the pitch and it is valid. Cape Town has been home to variable bounce and seam movement that is borderline excessive.

Any time the bowlers have been able to maintain a straight line and force the batter to play a shot, they've had pretty much an even chance of picking up a wicket.

South Africa were not in control of only 55 of the shots they played. They got bowled out for 55. That means one in five mistakes cost the ultimate price.

India were the same. They were not in control of 50 of the shots they played. A ratio of exactly one in five again. In conditions like these, as a batter, you are bound to make mistakes. And those conditions never eased up, so your chances of making a mistake were ever-present. And when all the bowler has to do to capitalise on that is maintain a straight line of attack, that's a bit unfair. There were only seven scores in double-digits and this is the third innings.

It is telling that Rohit and Kohli and Markram have made the most runs because they have taken a conscious decision to attack; to get as much as they can before the one with their name on it comes. If players of that quality feel like they have to abandon the bedrock of batting - their defence - to survive, that really says a lot.

This might be a handy link to bookmark. Most wickets in a single day of Test cricket. We're at 23 now and we may see something that has not happened in 100 years. (give or take)

South Africa went unscathed through the first ten overs, but in the next over Mukesh has Elgar nicking off to Kohli at first slip. It started outside off and seamed away sharply to snag the outside edge. Make that wicket no.21 on the first day at Newlands. Elgar is gone for 12 off 28 balls, in what is his last Test innings. Kohli, Bumrah, Mukesh all walk up to Elgar and congratulate him on a wonderful career. Elgar raises his bat and takes in the applause from the Cape Town crowd. The incoming de Zorzi also gives him a pat on the back. It's the end of an era in SA cricket, as Firdose Moonda puts it.

Sampath Bandarupalli points out that this is the first-ever instance of six wickets on the same score in a Test innings. It's all a blur once again as the Cape Town pitch continues to offer big seam and variable bounce. It's been a difficult pitch to bat, especially when the bowlers make the batters play. The old-ish ball is also seaming and bouncing off the deck. Twenty wickets have tumbled inside two sessions but India still have a substantial lead of 98.

Lungi Ngidi has roused the Cape Town crowd with a big triple-strike. In the first session, he bowled like...someone who hadn't played first-class cricket in over a year. He kept offering up full, floaty deliveries, but in this afternoon session he is bowling at full-tilt. He is running in hard and hitting the deck even harder. He is now bowling like the Ngidi we know. All three batters - Rahul, Jadeja, and Bumrah, who slots in at No.8 in the absence of Thakur - have been undone by steep bounce. Kohli is watching all of this unfold from the other end.

Rahul has shown a great deal and patience outside off and has finally got off the mark after 21 balls. At the other end, Kohli continues to play his shots. He continues to cover-drive  - like only he can - and there was also a rollicking pulled six off Rabada in the 27th over. Kohli then endured a nervy moment when Rabada found the outside edge, but it didn't carry to Markram at second slip. Kohli is approaching a fifty and India a lead of 100.

Fourteen wickets in the day now. Two wickets in eight balls for Burger. Very similar to the way Gill got out, only this time the line is tighter. Iyer knows he has to play - or does he, he could have left that on length - but gets squared up by the seam movement. Considerable seam movement, by the way. These are tough conditions to be out there. And India's lead, which is already above 50, might just be worth a lot more than that.

Defending the ball in the line of the stumps is really hard work. This is going to be another fast forward Test match. Ravindra Jadeja being back will help India, he's next in and his defensive technique is pretty good, but after him the batting sort of falls away. That's tea with India scoring 111 runs in 24 overs at 4.6 rpo

He's going at a run a ball but he's kinda sorta made up for it by taking two BIG wickets. Shubman Gill is gone, playing a bit of a nothing shot, pushing away from his body. Gill typically plays a lot of his shots off the back foot, or just from the crease, and that kind of technique can sometimes be picked apart in conditions that are offering as much as Cape Town is. This ball, for example, had seam movement after pitching, which is why he ended up pushing at the ball. And extra bounce. A more experienced top order player might not have pushed at the ball, might not have followed the movement. It's unclear if he would've even got any runs for the shot. Definitly does get him in trouble though.

A lil bit on Nandre Burger here by Firdose Moonda.

Rohit has to wait for his first half-century in South Africa. After offering up a number of floaty, full deliveries, Burger drags his length back, finds extra bounce and squares Rohit up, with the resultant outside edge near the shoulder of the bat flying to gully. The India captain falls for 39 off 50 balls. Did that snap off a crack? Not quite sure, but the change in length works for Burger. Kohli, though, gets off to a quick start to grow India's lead along with Gill.

After rolling SA over for 55 in the first morning, India claim the lead before drinks in the middle session. Kagiso Rabada ran in hard and hit the deck, but India saw him off and found runs at the other end. Both Ngidi, who is working his way back from injury, and rookie Burger bowled too full and offered up floaty deliveries. In less than ten overs, India have moved into the lead, with Rohit motoring along at a strike rate of over 100.

Here's Sampath Bandarupalli: 9.4 overs is the earliest any team has taken a first-innings lead in men's Tests, since 2001. Previous earliest was 11.2 overs by South Africa vs ZIM 2005 and vs NZ 2013, Both of them in Cape Town as well.

This is Ngidi's first over, in his first first-class game in over a year. He offers Rohit a leg-stump half-volley, which the India captain duly dispatches for four. Ngidi concedes two more fours in his opening over that costs 13 runs. In his next over, Ngidi oversteps twice. Shaun Pollock, who is on commentary, notes that Ngidi was running in with more energy during warm-ups. India are 26 for 1 in four overs. It might not be too long before Burger replaces Ngidi in the attack. Striking - and striking repeatedly - with the new ball is particularly vital in these conditions.

Firdose Moonda tries to make sense of SA's Cape Town collapse: "Well, that was not what anyone was expecting. Newlands is a bat-first venue so Dean Elgar's decision at the toss, even with a half hour earlier start than usual, a new groundsman and a patchwork pitch, was expected. And by the same token, South Africa should have expected the first hour to be difficult, especially against Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. The luck that evaded them at SuperSport Park manifested itself many-fold at Newlands, but it could be a discredit to India's skill to say it was only fortune. The ball that Aiden Markram edged shaped away late and while he could have got into line earlier, it may have got the better of most batters. Dean Elgar did not need to go after the delivery that he chopped up but his shot selection was a symptom of the pressure India's new-ball pair created, which saw South Africa slump to 29 for 4 after the first hour. They've come into this Test a batter short, after dropping Keegan Petersen and opting for four seamers and a spinner, and by the time David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne came together, it seemed already too late for a rescue act. Bedingham is new to international cricket and and did not account for extra bounce, Verreynne is ultra-aggressive and does not seem to put a high enough price on his wicket. The end result is complete deflation of all the expectation that surrounded this match - the first New Year's Test in four years and with South Africa 1-nil up in a series they cannot lose. Today is sold out and a sizeable crowd have already come in, only to see their team rack up the wrong kinds of records. The weekend hopefuls will already be making other plans."

India needed just 23.2 overs and two hours on the first morning to skittle South Africa for 55 - the lowest total by a team against India in Test cricket - after losing another toss on tour. It all happened so very quickly that it's a blur to me now. This is also South Africa's lowest Test total since 1932. Fittingly, Siraj holds the ball up once again and is warmly welcomed back by coach Dravid. In contrast, Elgar's farewell has turned into a nightmare. Mukesh, who replaced Thakur, takes care of the tail and ends with 2.2-2-0-2. Is there a way back for SA in this Test?

These are Siraj's figures in his first spell. He's finally finished his new-ball shift. He hit the right length, didn't bowl floaty deliveries, and had luck going his way. Our stats wiz Shiva Jayaraman notes that Siraj is only second Indian pacer, after Bumrah, and fifth pacer overall to take six wickets in a single session since 2016 (when we have complete session data). Trent Boult (features twice), Vernon Philander and Chris Woakes are the other names in this elite list.

There's no stopping Siraj. His eighth over is a double-wicket maiden. In all, he has bagged five wickets in 47 balls to leave South Africa six down and sinking on the first morning at Newlands. David Bedingham, the only SA batter to move into double figures so far, has now tickled Siraj behind for 12. Siraj puts it on a good length, finds trampoline bounce to have Bedingham gloving behind for 12. UNPLAYABLE! Three balls later, Siraj also has Jansen (0) edging behind. He holds the red ball up and rings in the New Year with a sensational five-wicket haul.

South Africa soon fall from 8 for 2 to 11 for 3 and 15 for 4. India's new-ball bowlers are keeping both the stumps and the close-in catchers in play. Tristan Stubbs manages only 3 before Bumrah has him offering a bat-pad catch to Rohit at short leg. In the very next over, Siraj has de Zorzi fending to Rohit at short leg and then caught by Rahul down the leg side.

After having Markram nicking off, Siraj has Elgar chopping on. The plan from Siraj was to attack the stumps and the body of Elgar. In his first over, Siraj drew a leading edge that flew over midwicket. Siraj then brought the stumps into play by bringing the ball back against the angle, with a short leg and leg slip in place. Then when Siraj dangled one outside off, Elgar threw his hands at the ball and ended up directing back to his own stumps instead of hitting it past the only fielder in front of square on the off side. SA are 8 for 2 in the sixth over.

This is a perfectly pitched delivery. Siraj gets this full delivery to angle in at off stump, which means Markram has to play. But it straightens away late to kiss the outside edge. Jaiswal dives across from third slip and completes a smart, low catch in front of second slip. Makram falls for 2 in the fourth over. Bumrah is also right on the money at the other end, hitting the fuller length and gleaning seam movement. He even let rip a 142kph inswinging yorker to Elgar, but the SA captain just about kept it out.

Elgar wins the toss in his final Test and announces that South Africa will bat first on what he calls an "interesting" pitch. They hand a Test debut to Tristan Stubbs and welcome back Lungi Ngidi, who is set to play his first first-class game in over a year. Left-arm fingerspinner Keshav Maharaj also returns for what will be his 50 Test match. The cracks could open up at Newlands as the game wears on. Keegan Petersen has been dropped, with South Africa leaning towards four seamers and a spinner.

A fit-again Jadeja is back for India, which means there is no room for Ashwin. After a difficult debut, Prasidh keeps his place in the XI while Thakur has been left out. Jadeja's return gives India greater batting depth, so they have opted for four out-and-out quicks, with Bumrah slotting in at No.8.

SA: 1 Dean Elgar (capt), 2 Aiden Markram, 3 Tony de Zorzi, 4 Tristan Stubbs, 5 David Bedingham, 6 Kyle Verreynne (wk), 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Nandre Burger,11 Lungi Ngidi

India: 1 Rohit Sharma(capt),2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Shubman Gill, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Shreyas Iyer, 6 KL Rahul(wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Jasprit Bumrah, 9 Mohammed Siraj, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Mukesh Kumar