Arms raised and with a glint in his eyes, Jasprit Bumrah made it look as if it was business as usual for him.
Aiden Markram had been around for close to an hour and was threatening to throw caution to the wind when Bumrah landed one on the back of a length on the off stump.
As the ball reared up, the opener was forced to glove it to Rishabh Pant. Startled by the magical delivery, Markram waited in his crease for a while before walking off in dismay.
The visiting vice-captain had looked assured till then and South Africa seemed set to benefit from winning the toss. But Bumrah’s craft and guile put an end to their ambitions after cruising at 57/0.
The No.1 fast bowler had provided the first breakthrough in his previous over from around the wicket when Ryan Rickelton pushed down the wrong line to one that moved away a wee bit after pitching.
The sparse Eden crowd in the morning had sensed the pulse and could gauge that Bumrah was keen to make his Eden ‘debut’ memorable. By evening, it had swelled to 36,000-plus.
Even as Kuldeep Yadav tied down the South African captain in knots, it was Bumrah who wielded the magic wand. Wickets came in bursts and he took only 14 overs to complete another five-wicket haul as South Africa crumbled for 159.
Bumrah’s cool demeanour belied his aggression, which attains a different dimension when he’s in his element. He doesn’t need to be overtly expressive or throw a fit to express his emotions.
For him, it’s all in the mind when it comes to getting the adrenaline flowing. The sight of the world Test champions was enough to fine-tune his mindset on the opening day.
There wasn’t much moisture on the wicket or the breeze to aid lateral movement, but for Bumrah, the circumstances didn’t matter. His sheer skill and variation forced the batters to make mistakes.
The first over of the day showed the dual nature of the wicket — one scooted low while the next one jumped alarmingly to catch Markram off guard.
Once it started to reverse after Lunch, he showed his superhuman face. It was a maddening display by an irresistible force called Bumrah, who operated at a different level.
He sent back Tony de Zorzi by skidding one onto his legs before flooring Kyle Verreynne with a searing yorker. The latter though survived for a while before falling to Mohammed Siraj.
If Bumrah was intensely lethal with his pace, control and mastery of length, Kuldeep’s wizardry left the visitors in a daze. The batters struggled to unravel his bagful of tricks as he toyed with them with his drift and turn.
Even the best of preparations failed to counter the dual threat posed by them as the world champions found on Friday. If they escaped Kuldeep’s sorcery, Bumrah would leave their confidence shattered with his rhythmic run-ups and penetrating line.
India are still 122 runs adrift of South Africa’s total, but with Bumrah and Kuldeep (2/36) generating such virulent spells consistently, it would be tough for them to return with pride intact.