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South Africa started off their Indian tour on a very strong note as both Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla posted commanding tons on Day 1 at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. The Proteas finished the day well on top of the hosts at 291/2 with Kallis and Amla going strong on159 off 290 (13x4, 2x6) and 115 off 225 (11x4) respectively.

The Indians were on the backfoot before the start of the match itself as VVS Laxman did not recover fully from his finger injury, and his replacement Rohit Sharma managed to deny himself a debut by picking up an injury on the morning of the match. This meant Dhoni was left with only 5 fit specialist batsmen in the squad apart from himself and was forced to go for reserve keeper Wriddhiman Saha. There was rich irony in the two debuts being made as Subramaniam Badrinath got his chance after banging on the door for close to half a decade, and Wriddhiman Saha was gifted the berth by a freak quirk of fate.

Visiting skipper Graeme Smith won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat on a pitch that looked browner than it did when the Proteas played their warm-up game. Also Smith preferred left-armer Paul Harris to Johan Botha as his first choice spinner.

Indian spearhead Zaheer Khan got things off to a brilliant start for the hosts, snapping up both left-handed openers in a fiery opening spell that read 6-4-2-2. He dug one in short right in the face of Ashwell Prince who in getting his bat up one-handed had the ball crashing into his arm-guard and flying to Dhoni. Unlucky to be given out, but a superb delivery nevertheless. Graeme Smith got another peach that cut in off a length and shattered Smith's stumps as he was too late in bringing his bat in line with the ball.

This brought Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis to the crease far earlier than they might have anticipated. Together the pair set about the repair work in brilliant fashion. They were circumspect initially, before Kallis opened out and showcased his entire range of shots. The veteran superstar was particularly severe against the spinners, latching on to anything marginally short and putting it away beyond the leg-side boundary. Amla was the ideal foil for the unusually aggressive Kallis, providing steady watchful support from the other end.

Kallis got to his fifty before lunch itself, and continued in much the same vein, if a touch faster, in the second session to raise his 34th test hundred off 166 deliveries. In the process, he equalled legends Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara, and is now behind only Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar. Amla followed with his half-century soon after, a far more patient knock.

Post-tea, proceedings took on a dull monotony as both batsmen were very well settled and unshakeable at the crease. Dhoni rotated his bowlers diligently, tried pace and spin in tandem, and used Virender Sehwag as a fifth bowler in the hope of breaking the ominous partnership. However nothing made an impression on the batsmen. The only change from the previous session was that Amla took on a more positive role and picked up his scoring rate, while Kallis settled down and dropped anchor. In this passage of play, Amla completed his own century, a most well deserved solid knock.

The Indians did not do themselves any good by giving Amla a couple of lives in the field. Zaheer Khan got him to edge one that went between keeper and first slip when on 61, and neither went for the catch. Then on 82, Badrinath couldn't get his fingers underneath the ball after diving to his right at short mid-on.

There was turn on offer for both Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra, but the two batsmen were in no trouble whatsoever. Harbhajan in particular hardly looked like taking a wicket, and his bowling was a far cry from the matchwinner he has proved himself in the past. Even Sehwag the part-timer overshadowed him on occasions.

South Africa find themselves in an extremely commanding position, and would want to ensure tomorrow that they need to bat only once. India will be concerned about their bowling effort, especially the ease with which Kallis countered their main weapon Harbhajan.

Mini Scorecard:

South Africa 1st innings: 291/2
Jacques Kallis 159* Zaheer Khan 20-5-67-2
Hashim Amla 115*

Teams:

South Africa: GC Smith, AG Prince, HM Amla, JH Kallis, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, MV Boucher, DW Steyn, WD Parnell, M Morkel, PL Harris

India: V Sehwag, G Gambhir, M Vijay, SR Tendulkar, S Badrinath, MS Dhoni, WP Saha, Harbhajan Singh, Z Khan, A Mishra, I Sharma

File Photograph