India vs South Africa, 3rd Test, Johannesburg, day 1, live cricket score: Kohli nears fifty

India had high hopes of a first ever Test series success in South Africa when they arrived for the tour, but have fallen short in two hard-fought matches. Virat Kohli has blamed it on his players making crucial mistakes. The Indian captain is the only player to score a century in the series, was especially disappointed with their display in Centurion on a wicket that was more suited to their game than South Africa’s. Another defeat would be devastating for him as skipper, and he believes his side can get the better of their hosts. CanIndia redeem themselves at Wanderers in Johannesburg and salvage their pride? Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara have steadied India’s ship after they lost both their openers in the first session. Get live cricket score of India vs South Africa and the latest updates of the match here. (LIVE SCORECARD)

16:56 hrs IST: Meanwhile, Pakistan will be facing either India or Bangladesh in the semi-final of the ongoing ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 in New Zealand, after they defeated South Africa on Wednesday. Read full story here

16:52 hrs IST: Pujara has moved into 20s and has started to look a lot more assured. His partnership with Kohli has gone past the 70-run mark.

16:47 hrs IST: FOUR! Half-volley from Rabada and Kohli drives it through cover. Moves to 47. Another big score on the cards from India captain! India are 83/2

16:42 hrs IST: FOUR! Too full from Morkel and Kohli punches it straight past the bowler. Nearing yet another fifty. Superb!

16:39 hrs IST: FOUR! Fuller delivery from Philander, Pujara gets forward and drives it past the non-striker. Moves to 19. India are 69/2

16:35 hrs IST: STAT ATTACK - South Africa won their last Test at the venue against Sri Lanka in January 2017, but have not won back to back games here since 2002-2003.

16:29 hrs IST: South Africa’s misses chances in the first session -

Philander spilled the opportunity to grab the big wicket of Kohli when the latter top-edged a pull off Rabada to mid-off, but the South African failed to hang on to what looked a simple chance.

Lungi Ngidi had, three balls earlier, struck the back leg of Pujara with a delivery that cut in. Umpire Ian Gould turned down the appeal and South Africa did not review the decision.

16:22 hrs IST: Consecutive boundaries for Pujara. He has started to cut loose. Time for South Africa bowlers to keep it more tight. Wickets will come, eventually. India are 63/2

16:18 hrs IST: FOUR! Too full from Morkel and Kohli times it well through extra cover. As good as it gets!

16:14 hrs IST: Single for Pujara and he moves to six (off 71 balls). This is an ideal opportunity for India to get a good first innings score. Kohli is the main man once again.

16:10 hrs IST: Welcome back! Pujara to take strike. Philander to resume the proceedings.

15:30 hrs IST: And that’s lunch. A session that belonged to the hosts. Philander started off in an excellent fashion and Rabada continued the good work by getting Vijay. Pujara and Kohli have been cautious (a bit patchy too). India would hope they both go on to score a big one. Join us in 40 minutes for the next session!

15:21 hrs IST: Meanwhile, West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard has achieved a unique T20 feat in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL). Read full story here

15:16 hrs IST: This is turning out to a decent phase for India. Both Kohli and Pujara should look to play a long innings here.

15:10 hrs IST: 46 consecutive balls without a run for Pujara. This is the longest scoreless streak by an India top order batsman in a Test innings in the last two decades. Previous: 45 balls, Sachin Tendulkar vs Zimbabwe, Delhi, 2002 - Mazher Arshad

15:06 hrs IST: First runs of the day for Pujara after 53 balls. Cheers! And Rahane celebrates it from the dressing room. Even the India No. 3 laughs! Full delivery from Ngidi and Pujara works it deep backward square leg for a single.

15:01 hrs IST: FOUR! Full and wide from Rabada (again), Kohli leans forward and drives it through deep extra cover. Moves to 15

14:57 hrs IST: A 50-ball 0 from Pujara. The main aim is to take the shine of the new ball, but will he able to capitalise later? On current form, it looks tough.

14:51 hrs IST: Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has advised current skipper and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed to consult this India legend to get over his fitness and form issues Read full story here

14:46 hrs IST: 43 balls and Pujara is yet to get off the mark. India are 20/2 after 17 overs. Lungi Ngidi, who took a six-wicket haul in his debut game, comes into the attack.

14:40 hrs IST: Worrying Sign!

Indian openers have averaged 12.30 in this series - the lowest ever in any Test series of 3+ matches.

Dhawan - 32 runs @ 16.00
Vijay - 77 runs @ 15.40
Rahul - 14 runs @ 4.66

Very poor show. #SAvInd

— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) January 24, 2018

14:36 hrs IST: Pujara narrowly misses an edge from a dangerously moving Philander delivery. He battles on at the crease for the moment.

14:27 hrs IST: Five maidens from Philander (out of his first six overs). This is simply brilliant! Faf du Plessis would be happy to loss the toss. India are 19/2, time for drinks.

14:21 hrs IST: FOUR! Typical Kohli, can’t get any better! Full and wide from Rabada and the India captain caresses it through cover for his first boundary of the day.

14:17 hrs IST: Pujara seems to be struggling, specifically against Philander. Need to keep his cool. A 100-ball 20 here will put his team in good stead.

14:12 hrs IST: OUT! This is poor from Vijay. On another day, he would have left that alone. Full and swinging from Rabada, the India opener looks to drive it through cover but edges it back to Quinton de Kock. No feet movement. Virat Kohli comes to the crease.

14:09 hrs IST: Here comes the first change in bowling - Kagiso Rabada. He would’ve loved to bowl with the new ball on this track but the 22-year-old is capable enough to cause damage at any stage of the game.

14:04 hrs IST: Meanwhile, Virender Sehwag has once again trained his guns on Virat Kohli, saying currently there is no one in the team who can stand up to the India skipper and point out his mistakes on the field. Read full story here

14:00 hrs IST: South Africa will look to complete a historic clean-sweep at a ground dubbed ‘The Bullring’ and on a wicket that’s bound to help their seamers throughout the five days.

13:56 hrs IST: STAT ATTACK - Cheteshwar Pujara hit 153 in India’s second innings the last time they played at this venue, the highest score by an India here. Can he repeat his heroics today?

13:52 hrs IST: This is excellent stuff from South Africa. Four maidens in a row. India are 7/1, Vijay 6*, Pujara 0*

13:45 hrs IST: OUT! Just the kind of start India would’ve wanted. KL Rahul’s woeful run continues. Vernon Philander has struck early, once again. Cheteshwar Pujara comes to the crease.

STAT ATTACK - South Africa, who are leading 2-0 in the series, have won two, lost two and drawn one in last five Tests played at the venue.

13:39 hrs IST: And Philander continues to make the ball talk. Get a feeling something is going to happen here. India are 7/0. Morkel to continue.

13:35 hrs IST: Seven runs off the first over. Vijay looks a bit more positive as compared to the last game. But his real challenge will be against Vernon Philander, who’ll share the new ball with Morkel.

13:31 hrs IST: Straightaway some movement for Morne Morkel. The ‘Art of Leaving’ will hold the key to India’s chances here.

13:28 hrs IST: Time for live action. Murali Vijay and KL Rahul make their way out in the middle and so do the South Africa players. Promises to be an exciting contest. Can Virat Kohli’s men finish the series with a win?

13:19 hrs IST: Our correspondent from Johannesburg tells us that there was heavy overnight rain and so the pitch could be fairly juiced up.

13:12 hrs IST: Whenever we play four seamers, the captain gets banned because of slow over-rate: MS Dhoni

The last time India played a Test without any spinner, they lost the Perth Test against Australia in three days in 2011. History to be repeated? #SAvIND

— Siddharth Vishy (@sid_vishy) January 24, 2018

13:07 hrs IST: So two changes for the visitors. Ajinkya Rahane replaces Rohit Sharma while Bhuvneshwar Kumar comes in for R Ashwin. For South Africa, Andile Phehlukwayo is in for Keshav Maharaj.

13:05 hrs IST: Here are the playing XI of both teams -

India: Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Parthiv Patel(w), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah

South Africa: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Lungisani Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo

13:01 hrs IST: India have won the toss and have opted to bat.

12:52 PM IST: “There is a very thick covering of grass and the surface is quite hard as well. There are a few cracks as well. As the game goes on, if the sun comes down, the cracks could widen. There could be two thoughts on this - either bat first and expect the surface to quicken up later or take the gamble on such a surface and insert the opposition in.” - Shaun Pollock (on the pitch).

12:44 PM IST: The all-important toss in a short while. Will India go on with four genuine seamers today? And if this happens, will Hardik Pandya keep his place?

12:25 PM IST: The Proteas have never beaten India in a Test at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. South Africa won their last Test at this venue against Sri Lanka in January 2017, but have not won back to back games there since 2002-2003

12:05 PM IST: South Africa have won consecutive Tests against India for the first time since 2006-07, they’ve not won three in a row against them since 2000-2001.

The Proteas can complete a first clean-sweep of a three-Test series against India, having already secured wins in Cape Town and Centurion earlier this month.

A 3-0 series victory would not see South Africa take over from India at the top of the International Cricket Council’s rankings, but would move them to within decimal points of doing so. With a four-Test series to come against Australia in March, top spot would be tantalisingly close.

“I don’t think we’ll make changes for the third Test just for the sake of giving opportunities. We want to keep our foot on the gas and apply as much pressure as possible (on India),” Faf Du Plessis, the South African skipper, told reporters on Tuesday.

“It doesn’t happen a lot that you get the chance to beat a team 3-0 and I would favour dominating India and being ruthless.