In a chaotic Day 1 of South Africa vs India 2nd Test, records broke like ten pins. In 75.1 overs of play, 23 wickets fell in Newlands, Cape Town in the SA vs IND 2nd Test. Yet, barring Mark Nicholas on the commentary panel, no one raised a voice on the pitch. Had it been Indian pitch and spinners bagging the wickets, England and Australian media as well as their former and current greats would have been vocal with social media going abuzz. Here, nothing of that sort happened.
The pitch was mentioned only once throughout Day 1 of SA vs IND 2nd Test. But Newlands pitch raised questions as there was no contest between the bat and the ball with pacers bagging 20 wickets in 58.1 overs.
South Africa were bowled out for 55 runs with Mohammed Siraj bagging six wickets. And then, India shot in their feet with last six wickets falling for a duck in just 11 balls. India were bowled out for 153 with a 98-run lead, forcing South Africa to bat again on Day 1 with 27 overs still to go on Day 1.
To make things worse for batters, there was uneven bounce on Newlands pitch. And South Africa suffered again in the 2nd innings as they closed the day at 62/3, making it 23 wickets on Day 1.
And with that, Cape Town Test entered history books. It is now second in terms of Most Wickets Falling on Day 1 of a Test match.
Most Wickets on Day 1:
- 25: AUS vs ENG, Melbourne, 1902
- 23: – SA vs IND, Cape Town, 2024
- 22: ENG vs AUS, The Oval, 1890
- 22: AUS vs WI, Adelaide, 1951
- 21: SA vs ENG, Gqeberha, 1896
SA vs IND 2nd Test: Session-wise
| Session | Overs | Runs | Wickets | RR |
| Session 1 | 23.2 | 55 | 10 | 2.4 |
| Session 2 | 24 | 111 | 4 | 4.6 |
| Session 3 | 27.5 | 104 | 9 | 3.7 |
Most wickets on a single day
- 27: ENG vs AUS, Lord’s, 1888 (Day 2)
- 25: AUS vs ENG, Melbourne, 1902 (Day 1)
- 24: ENG vs AUS, The Oval, 1896 (Day 2)
- 24: IND vs AFG, Bengaluru, 2018 (Day 2)
- 23: SA vs AUS, Cape Town, 2011 (Day 2)
- 23: SA vs IND, Cape Town, 2024 (Day 1)
