India rule first day at Eden

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men made a dramatic turnaround on the first day of the second Test against South Africa as the visitors crumbled from a seemingly strong 228 for two to 266 for nine before the end of day's play.

The situation after lunch seemed like an action replay of the first day of the first Test, as Hashim Amla looked in ominous form once again. However the Indian bowlers came back with a vengeance in the final two hours, something that they could not achieve at Nagpur. Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh ripped through the South African batting lineup, at one point the latter was even on a hat-trick. Bhajji picked up three wickets in the space of two overs and finished with 23-2-63-3. Zaheer Khan also grabbed three wickets and finished with 77 runs in his 21 overs.

Ishant Sharma, who has been struggling to find form also came good, though he did not take more than one wicket he showed resilience and stuck to consistent line and length. Earlier in the day 20-year-old debutante Alviro Petersen scored a century, becoming the first South African in two decades to slam a ton on debut; his partnership of 209 runs with Amla (114 (164 balls, 14x4, 1x6) proved frustrating for the Indian bowlers early on. As soon as Petersen departed the batting collapse began, as Bhajji and Khan tore apart the lineup.