The Proteas went wicketless on day one of the first Test against India at Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
Rain and bad light brought a halt to play in the second session with India comfortable at 202 without loss.
The rain failed to subside, forcing stumps with just 59.1 overs bowled.
India’s openers comfortable
India won the toss and elected to bat. Openers Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal exercised patience against South Africa’s seamers Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander.
However, they scored freely against the spinning trio of Keshav Maharaj, Dane Piedt and debutant Senuran Muthusamy.
The latter two were especially expensive, returning economy rates of 6.14 and 4.60 respectively.
This forced captain Fas du Plessis to rely heavily on Maharaj, who sent down 23 overs compared to seven by Piedt and five by Muthusamy.
Sharma continued his impressive home form, cruising to 115 not out with a strike rate of 66 percent.
Agarwak was more circumspect, but reached 84 not out.
Work for South Africa
South Africa have their work cut out on day two if they are to make this Test competitive.
India have a formidable home record over the past few years, especially after winning the toss and batting first.
Proteas great Dale Steyn tweeted his concern as the bowlers toiled. He wrote, “Gotta think outside the box here.”
India vs South Africa Test: teams
South African team: Aiden Makram, Dean Elgar, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis (C), Quinton de Kock (wk), Vernon Philander, Senuram Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Dane Piedt, and Kagiso Rabada.
Indian team: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami.