Kingsmead Test: Vijay and Pujara make merry against South African attack

Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara shared an unbeaten century partnership before bad light stopped play on the first day of the second and final Test against India at Kingsmead on Thursday India were 181 for one when the day39s play was brought to a premature end eight overs after tea Vijay 91 not out and Pujara 58 not out put on 140 for the second wicket as South Africa39s bowlers toiled on an unresponsive pitch after Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss It was an inauspicious opening day for world champions South Africa after captain Graeme Smith said the team were determined to put in a good performance to mark star allrounder Jacques Kallis39 last Test Morne Morkel L and Murali Vijay engage in verbal duel during the first day of the second Test match between India and South Africa at the Sahara Stadium at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday PicAFP Kallis 38 announced on Wednesday that he would retire from Test cricket after the match although he will continue to play oneday cricket in an effort to be selected for the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand Kallis led the South African team on to the field at the start of play to the applause of his teammates spectators and umpires Steve Davis and Rod Tucker Morne Morkel claimed South Africa39s only wicket when he had Shikhar Dhawan caught at third slip off the first ball after the midmorning drinks break Dhawan made 29 in an opening stand of 41 with Vijay Morkel suffered a sprained right ankle while fielding on the third day of the drawn first Test in Johannesburg last Friday It was initially expected he would be put of action for between seven and ten days but he passed a fitness test on Thursday morning after intensive treatment It was a good toss for India to win with Dhoni noting that the pitch looked dry and good for batting It also gave India39s fast bowlers a chance to recover further from their exertions in Johannesburg where India bowled 136 overs in the last innings without being able to clinch victory Dhawan and Vijay both looked confident at the start of the innings and the lefthanded Dhawan struck four boundaries before edging a drive to Alviro Petersen at third slip Vijay batted patiently to notch a halfcentury off 102 balls a statistic made notable by the fact that his fifty included 11 boundaries By the close he had faced 201 balls and added another six fours Pujara followed up his 153 in the second innings in Johannesburg with another impressive innings reinforcing his reputation as the successor to Rahul Dravid in playing the anchor batting role for his team He reached his fifty shortly before tea off 97 balls with seven fours He faced another 20 deliveries before the close without adding to his tally of boundaries The match started in bright sunshine but by tea the ground had clouded over and the floodlights were on PHOTOS Daring to succeed at Durban u00a0 Ravindra Jadeja has replaced R Ashwin in the Indian squad Pic AFP The umpires had several discussions about the light before taking the players off just over half an hour after the interval The tall Morkel looked the most dangerous of the South African bowlers although the pitch did not offer any significant pace and bounce Vernon Philander had a probing second spell during which sent down four successive maiden overs while Dale Steyn had the composed Vijay ducking with some shortpitched bowling from around the wicket just before play was halted India made one change with leftarm spinner Ravindra Jadeja replacing offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin South Africa also made a change of spin bowlers with leftarmer Robin Peterson coming in for legspinner Imran Tahir SCORECARD Close of play scores on the first day of the second and final Test between South Africa and India at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday India first innings S Dhawan c Petersen b Morkel 29 M Vijay not out 91 C Pujara not out 58 Extras lb1 n1 w1 3 Total 1 wkt 61 overs 181 Fall of wicket 141 Dhawan Bowling Steyn 166490 Philander 144390 Morkel 123261 Kallis 71230 Peterson 122430 To bat V Kohli R Sharma A Rahane R Jadeja Zaheer Khan I Sharma Mohammed Shami South Africa G Smith A Petersen H Amla J Kallis A de Villiers J Duminy F du Plessis R Peterson V Philander D Steyn M Morkel Match situation India are 181 for one wicket in the first innings Toss India Umpires Steve Davis Rod Tucker both AUS TV umpire Adrian Holdstock RSA Match referee Andy Pycroft ZIM