Vijay, Pujara flourish against South African attack

DURBAN: Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara shared an unbeaten century partnership for the second wicket as South Africa´s bowlers were made to toil on an unresponsive pitch on the first day of the second and final Test against India at Kingsmead on Thursday.

Vijay (76 not out) and Pujara (55 not out) enabled India to reach 163 for one at tea after winning the toss.

Morne Morkel claimed South Africa´s only wicket when he had Shikhar Dhawan caught at third slip off the first ball after the mid-morning 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. However, he passed a fitness test on Thursday morning after intensive treatment.

It was a good toss for India to win, with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni noting that the pitch looked dry and good for batting.

Dhawan and Vijay both looked confident at the start of the innings. Vijay batted patiently to notch a half-century off 102 balls while Pujara followed up his 153 in the second innings in Johannesburg with another impressive fifty.

The match started in bright sunshine but by tea the ground had clouded over and the floodlights were on.

Jacques Kallis led the team on to the field to a standing ovation from the crowd after announcing on Wednesday that he will be retiring from Test cricket after the current Test. Kallis is playing in his 166th Test match in a career which started in 1995/96. (AFP)