Ashwin’s five-for puts India in control of first Test
India took a firm grip on the opening Test against South Africa in Mohali on Friday after off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took his 13th five-wicket haul and Cheteshwar Pujara struck a fifty. The hosts took a slender 17-run first innings lead after bowling out the opposition for 184 and moved to a confident 125-2 at the close of day two for an overall lead of 142.
Brief scores: India 201 & 125-2 in 40 overs (M Vijay 47, C Pujara 63 batting) v South Africa 184 in 68 overs (D Elgar 37, H Amla 43, AB de Villiers 63, R Ashwin 5-51,R Jadeja 3-55, A Mishra 2-35).
After the tourists resumed their first innings at 28-2, Ashwin scythed through the South African line-up on a deteriorating pitch as he became the joint-fourth fastest bowler to reach the 150-wicket mark in Tests in his 29th match.
Overnight pair of Dean Elgar (37) and skipper Hashim Amla (43) took their third wicket stand to 76 before Ashwin struck. Elgar was caught attempting to slog at the off-spinner but only managed to top-edge for Ravindra Jadeja to take the catch at backward point.
Ashwin dismissed the dangerous Amla stumped, after the batsman stepped out to the spinner. The ball rebounded off Wriddhiman Saha’s chest after the wicketkeeper failed to collect the ball. Four balls later, Ashwin had Dane Vilas top-edge to Jadeja at backward square leg.
In-form AB de Villiers cracked his 37th Test fifty (63) as he marshalled the lower-middle order. De Villiers, playing in his 99th  Test, appeared to struggle on the difficult pitch, but was imposing once he got his eye in. De Villiers got a reprieve on 7 when he was caught at second slip by Virat Kohli off left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, but the delivery was ruled a no-ball by the third umpire. The stylish batsman reached his half-century with a boundary off Jadeja.
De Villiers put on 29 for the sixth wicket with Vernon Philander (3) and 34 for the next with Simon Harmer (7) before Jadeja had Philander caught at first slip and leg-spinner Amit Mishra dismissed Harmer lbw.
Dale Steyn was stumped off Jadeja while de Villiers was bowled by Mishra as the two spinners shared five wickets before Imran Tahir became Ashwin’s 150 Test scalp, caught by Pujara at short-leg. Steyn did not take the field later owing to a groin strain.
Soon after the hosts started their second innings, Philander sent back opener Shikhar Dhawan for a duck for the second time in the match, caught by de Villiers at second slip.
Opener Murali Vijay (47), who hit 75 in the first innings, and Pujara, however, put on 86 for the second wicket to lay the base for a strong total before Vijay fell to leg-spinner Imran Tahir, caught by a diving substitute T Bavuma at short-leg.
At stumps on day two, India seemed to hold the momentum with Kohli (11) and Pujara(63) at the crease.