India vs South Africa, 1st Test, Visakhapatnam, Highlights: Rain Ends Day 1 Early After Rohit Sharma Century

India were 202/0 before rain forced early stumps on the opening day of the first Test against South Africa in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday (October 2). Heavens opened up during the tea break, delaying the start of the third session. With rain showing no signs of abating, umpires decided to call off the play for the day. Rohit Sharma was unbeaten on 115, while Mayank Agarwal was on course for a century, reaching 84 off 183 balls. Get highlights of India vs South Africa, 1st Test, Day 1 here (SCORECARD | CRICKET NEWS)

15:41 hrs IST: That's it. Thank you for joining us! 

15:34 hrs IST: The day has officially been called off. This had to happen once it started raining. Let's hope for better weather on Day 2. 

14:47 hrs IST: Still pouring down. The inevitable might happen soon. 

14:23 hrs IST: Raining now. Would take some time for sure before a restart is possible. 

14:14 hrs IST: The covers are coming on now

14:05 hrs IST: It is pretty overcast now. The players are going off and it looks like early tea has been taken as a precaution. So that make it two sessions without a wicket for the Proteas. India are 202/0 after 59.1 overs. We'll keep you posted! 

14:00 hrs IST: FOUR! Length ball from Philander, outside off, Rohit stays in the crease and hits this between extra cover and sweeper cover. Sheer class! Expensive over from the South African, eight off it. India are 198/0 after 58 overs. Rohit 115*, Agarwal 80*

13:54 hrs IST: SIX! Length ball from Maharaj, on middle stump, Rohit gets down and sweeps over the square leg boundary. Six number five for him. India are 190/0 after 57 overs. Rohit 107*, Agarwal 80*

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13:42 hrs IST: Single and that's a century for Rohit, first as an opener and fourth overall. What a player! Hitman at his very best! Has been a classy knock. Hopefully, we'll see more of such knocks in future. Gets a standing ovation for everyone in the dressing room. India are 179/0 after 54 overs. Agarwal 76* 

13:28 hrs IST: SIX! Flighted delivery from Piedt, Rohit dances out, and lofts it over the fielder in the deep for a maximum. Another costly over from the South African, 12 off it. India are 163/0 after 50 overs. Rohit 93*, Agarwal 68*

13:22 hrs IST: FOUR! Piedt drops it short, and Agarwal pulls it behind square for a boundary. No fielder moved. Poor over from the offspinner, nine off it. He's really struggling here (6-1-31-0). India are 150/0 after 48 overs. Rohit 81*, Agarwal 68*

13:11 hrs IST: Thirty-six runs off the last 60 balls. India heading towards a big score. Not looking for the visitors at the moment. All eyes on Rohit from here. He's well on course to cross the three-figure mark. India are 139/0 after 46 overs. Rohit 80*, Agarwal 58*. Time for drinks! 

13:02 hrs IST: FOUR! Short of length ball from Rabada, outside off, and Rohit pulls it in front of square. Too easy! India are 135/0 after 44 overs. Rohit 78*, Agarwal 56*. An in-form Rohit at the top will surely help India in chasing totals in long format. The Proteas in desperate need of a wicket here.  

The auction for next year's edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held in December in Kolkata. It is for the first time that the BCCI has decided to conduct the auction at a new venue, going away from the tradition of holding it in Bengaluru.

12:49 hrs IST: FOUR! Short ball from Rabada, outside off, Rohit rocks back and punches it through point for a boundary. India are 123/0 after 40 overs. Rohit 69*, Agarwal 53*

12:38 hrs IST: SIX! Flighted delivery from Maharaj, outside off, Agarwal makes room and drives over extra cover for a maximum. What a way to reach his fifty! Needs to convert this into a big one now! India are 110/0 after 37 overs. Rohit 59*, Agarwal 51*

12:34 hrs IST: FOUR! Too full from Philander, on Agarwal's pads, and he flicks through mid-wicket. Superb timing! Brings up the 100-run stand. 

12:25 hrs IST: Rohit and Philander's battle in the first hour was absorbing. Philander, who got the better of Rohit in the warm-up game, challenged the Indian by moving the ball both ways in his opening spell of four overs.

After a few play and misses, Rohit chose to walk down the pitch before Du Plessis asked wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock to stand up to the stumps.

After getting the measure of the surface, Rohit went for his strokes like he does in white-ball cricket.

12:14 hrs IST: FOUR! Touch short from Maharaj, width on offer, Rohit transfers weight back and hits it to the cover boundary. The Proteas may find it difficult to stop the Mumbaikar! India are 96/0 after 31 overs. Rohit 57*, Agarwal 39*

12:11 hrs IST: All set for the post-lunch session. India going well. Maharaj to Rohit

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Sports Minister Harin Fernando on Tuesday (October 1) dismissed suggestions that the BCCI had issued a threat to their players that they will be ousted from the cash-rich IPL, if they toured Pakistan. READ HERE 

11:30 hrs IST: FOUR! That's a half-century for Rohit, first as opener and 11th overall. Length ball from Piedt, on leg stump, Rohit gets down for the sweep, but the extra bounce results in a top edge just past backward square. AND THAT'S LUNCH as umpire Richard Illingworth takes the bails off. India are 91/0 after 30 overs. Agarwal unbeaten on 39 with six fours and a maximum. 

11:19 hrs IST: FOUR! Flighted up from Senuran Muthusamy, outside off, Rohit comes down the pitch and flicks this to the wide of mid-on, along the ground. India are 84/0 after 27 overs. Rohit 46*, Agarwal 38*

11:10 hrs IST: SIX! Length from Piedt, again on middle stump, Rohit somewhat gets to the pitch of the ball and tonks it over long-on for a maximum. Has been an excellent session for the hosts so far. With the pitch expected to deteriorate from Day 2, anything around 400 would be a very good score. Rohit 41*, Agarwal 38*

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11:03 hrs IST: SIX! Length ball from Dane Piedt, on middle stump, Agarwal steps out and lifts it straight down the ground for a maximum. India are 68/0 after 23 overs. Agarwal 38*, Rohit 30*

10:54 hrs IST: SIX! Another flighted delivery from Maharaj, Rohit charges down the track, and smashes it over mid-on for a maximum to bring up fifty for the opening stand. India are 53/0 after 20 overs. Agarwal 27*, Rohit 26*

10:44 hrs IST: FOUR! Flighted delivery from Maharaj, and Agarwal carves it past point. Turning out to be a fine period for the Karnataka batsman. India are 44/0 after 17 overs. Agarwal 26*, Rohit 18*

10:41 hrs IST: This is the eighth consecutive Test match in Asia in which South Africa have lost the toss.

10:30 hrs IST: FOUR! Too full from Philander, outside off, Agarwal comes on the front foot, and drives it through cover. India are 35/0 after 14 overs. Agarwal 19*, Rohit 16*

10:24 hrs IST: FOUR! Fuller ball from Maharaj, Agarwal gives himself room, and drives it straight back past the bowler. Super shot! India are 30/0 after 13 overs. Agarwal 15*, Rohit 15*. Philander comes back into the attack. 

10:17 hrs IST: Another tidy over from Maharaj. It's a maiden! But so far so good for India. No wickets in the first 11 overs. Kohli & Co would take that. Plenty to think for Du Plessis. 

10:09 hrs IST: Keshav Maharaj, left arm orthodox, into the attack. The 29-year-old starts well, no margin for error. Rohit v Maharaj - an exciting contest on the cards! India are 22/0 after 9 overs. Rohit 11*, Agarwal 11*

10:01 hrs IST: FOUR! Back of a length delivery from Philander, outside off, Rohit punches through backward point for a boundary. Shot! India are 19/0 after 7 overs. Agarwal 11*, Rohit 8*

Meanwhile, Real Madrid fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Club Brugge on Tuesday (October 1) thanks to a late equaliser from Casemiro. Also, Raheem Sterling came off the bench to score and provide an assist for fellow substitute Phil Foden as Manchester City beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-0. READ HERE 

09:49 hrs IST: Good comeback from Philander and Rabada. Some shape for both seamers. Get a feeling something is going to happen here. Rohit a bit tentative. India are 9/0 after 4 overs. 

09:40 hrs IST: FOUR! Short and wide, and Rohit gets off the mark in style, opens the bat face and drives on the up through backward point. India are 8/0 after 2 overs. 

09:36 hrs IST: FOUR! Full and wide from Philander, Agarwal drives it behind square on the off-side. First runs on the day. India are 4/0. Kagiso Rabada comes into the attack. 

09:31 hrs IST: Time for live action. Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal are at the crease. Vernon Philander to begin proceedings. With new ball in hand, the South African is going to ask a lot of questions. Should be a cracker of a contest! 

09:08 hrs IST: Playing XIs

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Vernon Philander, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada

India: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami

09:01 hrs IST: India have won the toss and have opted to bat

08:45 hrs IST: WHAT THEY SAID - 

Ajinkya Rahane, India vice-captain: “It is important to start with a win because of the Test Championship points. You cannot take any team lightly. It is important to respect your opponents.  As we know the conditions we need to focus on our strength."

Vernon Philander, South Africa bowler: "The Test championship brings in a new dimension. It is a new sort of excitement for players. Also knowing that you will be playing against top teams more often [is great]. It’s a tough start…playing India in India but I don’t think the South Africans would have wanted it any other way… take the big dogs in their home ground. All of us are looking forward to this challenge and there are a lot of player-to-player challenges as well. Can’t wait to get going."

STAT ATTACK - R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja average 17.5 and 13.9 respectively in Tests vs South Africa.

08:20 hrs IST: Hello and welcome to Outlook's live coverage of the first Test between India and South Africa. 

Rohit Sharma is in the form of his life and many ex-India players, including Yuvraj Singh, believe that the Mumbai batsman should be playing across formats and given a long run as a Test opener.

He couldn’t be accommodated in the middle-order in the two Tests in the West Indies but now with KL Rahul dropped due to poor form, Rohit opening the innings could be a blessing in disguise for the hosts.

At Rishabh Pant's expense, Wriddhiman Saha will play his first international match in 22 months. Kohli will be banking on his skills to keep against genuine turners of the ball and in Indian conditions. Saha is also a competent batsman. 

R Ashwin, who didn't make the starting XI during the Tests in West Indies, is back and will handle the spin duties alongside Ravindra Jadeja. That's a clear indication that the Visakhapatnam wicket will aid the tweakers.

South Africa, on the other hand, had a series to forget when they last toured India in 2015, losing three of the four Tests. Come 2019, things appear even tougher as they lack experience, with Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla retiring last month. However, the visitors will be inspired by Aiden Markram, who scored a fluent century in the practice game against the Board President's XI.

While skipper Faf du Plessis and Dean Elgar will be aiming to make an early statement with the bat, the bowling unit, spearheaded by Kagiso Rabada, seems well-rounded with the return of Vernon Philander and Lungi Ngidi, and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj.