'One of the toughest pitches I've batted on'

India insist their total of 187 has put them in a good position in the third Test against South Africa on a bowler-friendly surface that Cheteshwar Pujara has described as "one of the toughest pitches I have batted on".

Eleven wickets fell and just 193 runs were scored on an intriguing opening day in Johannesburg, where both teams selected a five-man seam attack on a pitch that, according to the players, will only become more difficult to bat on as the match progresses.

And it's given Pujara belief that India's seemingly low first-innings score is nowhere near as bad as it appears.

"It is one of the toughest pitches I have batted on," said Pujara, who battled for 261 minutes and faced 179 balls in making 50.

"The total we have is as good as scoring 300 on any (other) wicket.

"If our bowlers bowl well we have a very good chance. This wicket will be very difficult to bat on.

"The cracks are opening up and a couple of balls are deviating a lot. As the game progresses, we will see uneven bounce so that’s the reason we batted first."

South Africa picked a five-pronged pace attack, bringing in allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo for left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, and the Indian batsmen were under pressure all day on a pitch that offered pace and sideways movement.

Phehlukwayo, who justified his selection by taking 2-25, acknowledged that it was a good pitch to bowl on and agreed with Pujara that the cracks were already opening up. 

"One ball really deviated and it will go up and down," he said. "It is already going up and down from a length.

"You have to look to score and get into good positions, otherwise there is a ball that has your name on it on that type of wicket.

"They have a decent enough total but it’s not really par. I think we bowled really well."

Pujara took an astonishing 54 balls to score his first run on Wednesday, the breakthrough sparking Bronx cheers from the crowd and applause from his teammates, while the right-hander smiled sheepishly in acknowledging the 'milestone'.

He fell just three runs short of the Indian Test record of 57 balls to get off the mark, by Ravi Chauhan against Sri Lanka in 1994. The all-time mark is 80 balls by England's John Murray against Australia in 1963.

"You need to take your time, you need to get used to the bounce, get used to the lateral movement," he said. "It was difficult for me earlier on."

Indian captain Virat Kohli, who took the bold decision to bat first in overcast conditions, made 54 in contrasting style to Pujara, dominating a third wicket stand of 84 with his teammate. He struck nine boundaries in a 106-ball innings.

Pujara admitted that he was unable to match Kohli’s fluency, while he also backed his captain's decision to bat first despite not selecting a frontline spinner.

"I don’t think any other batsman could bat like that," he said.

"He’s in form having made a hundred in the last game and he was timing the ball really well."

Qantas tour of South Africa

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc.

Warm-up match v SA Invitational XI, Sahara Park, Benoni, Feb 22-24

First Test Kingsmead, Durban, March 1-5

Second Test St George's Park, Port Elizabeth, March 9-13

Third Test Newlands, Cape Town, March 22-26

Fourth Test Wanderers, Johannesburg, March 30-April 3