India vs South Africa: Battle likely to resume on Day 4 as sunny skies greet fans at Cape Town

The forecast for South Africa's Cape Town was predicted to be ‘mostly sunny’ on Monday morning. However, the same forecast added that it could get ‘partly cloudy’ later in the day.

FirstCricket Staff, Jan,08 2018

After the third day of the first Test between South Africa and India was washed out due to rains, Monday is likely to see some action at Cape Town’s Newlands Stadium with the rain gods finally relenting.

According to accuweather.com, the forecast was predicted to be ‘mostly sunny’ on Monday morning. However, the same forecast added that it could get ‘partly cloudy’ later in the day.
Journalists at Cape Town said that the weather was ‘bright and sunny’ at 8.30 am — two hours before the start of day’s play.

The main pitch at the Newlands Stadium is covered as play is delayed due to rain. REUTERS

The main pitch at the Newlands Stadium is covered as play is delayed due to rain. REUTERS

To make up for the loss of overs on the third day, Monday and Tuesday were to witness 98 overs being bowled, with play to start as per schedule.

South Africa are in the driver’s seat in the first Test, having reached a score of 65/2 at stumps on Day 2 with an overall lead of 142 runs. In the first innings, the Proteas had scored 286 before dismissing India for 209. It took a valiant 93-run knock from Hardik Pandya to prevent the hosts from running away with the Test on Day 2.

According to reports from the stadium, a few Indian players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah spent Sunday training at the indoor nets with coaches Sanjay Bangar and Bharat Arun in tow.

South Africa’s pace spearhead Dale Steyn suffered a heel injury while bowling during India’s first innings and has been ruled out of the match. There are chances that he will be unavailable for the rest of the series too. However, despite his absence, Virat Kohli and Co will be facing an uphill battle to save this Test.

Catch all the action from the fourth day of the first India vs South Africa Test live on our liveblog.

Published Date: Jan 08, 2018 | Updated Date: Jan 08, 2018