Bumrah's blitz sees India dominate Day 1 at Eden Gardens

Four spinners. That's how many India went in with for this Kolkata Test, their first such selection since 2012. And yet, it was Jasprit Bumrah doing on the pitch what Jasprit Bumrah does on most pitches around the world. On a dry, cracked Eden Gardens surface with just enough grass to hold it together, Bumrah made South Africa fall apart with sensational figures of 5 for 27, which helped bowl the visitors out for 159 on a record-breaking 11-wicket opening day at the Eden Gardens.

The day didn't start that way for the hosts though. It all seemed to be going South Africa's way as Temba Bavuma called correctly and his openers put up 57 runs in quick time. It didn't help India's case that Mohammed Siraj looked totally off-colour with the new ball, conceding 25 in his three overs before being taken off. But at the other end, Bumrah looked in a world of his own, getting the ball to misbehave vertically and horizontally, beating edges, hitting cracks and barely letting a batter find the middle.

In a long seven-over opening spell, it might have taken him 33 balls to strike but they were totally worth the wait. Left-handed Ryan Rickelton got a peach from around the wicket, the ball straightening off the seam to clip the top of off. Few balls later, Bumrah got the ball to bounce awkwardly into right-handed Markram, leaving the batter no option but to fend it behind to a flying Rishabh Pant.

Following Pant's cue there, India took their close-in catches. Dhruv Jurel, coming into the side for Nitish Reddy, did exactly that at forward short leg when Temba Bavuma turned a Kuldeep Yadav legbreak towards him. Another catch of Kyle Verreynne later in the innings didn't stick but so good were the Indian bowlers that they kept producing wicket-taking deliveries at the Eden Gardens.

One crucial moment of unforced error from South Africa was when Wiaan Mulder went for the reverse sweep and found himself trapped leg-before by Kuldeep. The wicket reduced them to 114/4 from a comfortable 57/0 at one point.

Bumrah returned after lunch and picked up right where he'd left off. Bowling from round the wicket, he breached Tony de Zorzi's defence with one that straightened just enough and stayed low, a reminder of how difficult the pitch was. But the real shift in momentum came when Siraj, this time operating from Bumrah's end, found rhythm. He went stump to stump, tailing the ball in, getting Kyle Verreynne lbw and Marco Jansen bowled, both in the same over.

Axar Patel, into the side for side for Sai Sudharsan and having proved expensive in his first spell, found his rhythm too, turning one sharply and then skidding one on to remove Corbin Bosch at the stroke of Tea.

By now, South Africa looked rattled and had lost all their reviews. India's attack had found the right length, targeting the stumps and trusting the pitch to do the rest.

Bumrah kicked off the evening session with a couple of wickets in an over that not only bowled South Africa out in 55 overs but also delivered the fast bowler to his 16th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Simon Harmer was bowled by one that decked in sharply and Keshav Maharaj was trapped in front by a searing yorker. Tristan Stubbs looked stoic and determined during his 74-ball vigil but ran out of partners in the end.

India's start with the bat was uncertain. The pitch had settled a touch and the variable bounce from the first two sessions had eased, but there was still swing on offer. And South Africa's new-ball pair, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder (Kagiso Rabada missing out because of a rib injury) found movement and lift, and kept India honest.

In the seventh over, Yashasvi Jaiswal chopped one onto his stumps off Jansen to give South Africa an early breakthrough. And once his natural risk-taking was gone, India slipped into a shell. KL Rahul played and missed but held on, while Washington Sundar, India's newest experiment at No. 3, pushed up to accommodate Axar Patel lower down, tried to find some rhythm in difficult conditionsn at a sub-16 strike-rate.

The good news for the hosts was that India didn't lose more wickets even as Keshav Maharaj found sharp turn and Jansen, Mulder and Corbin Bosch hit impeccable lengths. The run rate crawled at 1.85 but survival, for the moment, mattered more than speed.

Fading light meant only 75 overs were bowled before Stumps were drawn but India will walk out on Day 2 looking to break free, with an even more packed Eden Gardens behind them.

Brief Scores: South Africa 159 all out (Markram 31; Bumrah 5-27) lead India 37/1 (Rahul 13*, Jaiswal 12, Sundar 6*; Jansen 1-11) by 122 runs