South Africa's Kagiso Rabada was the shining light during an overcast day at Centurion, picking up the 14th five-wicket haul of his career on the opening day of the first Test match against India.

South Africa's premier fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada, proved why he is regarded as just that after producing a sublime five-wicket haul -- the 14th of his career -- on day one of the first Test between India and the Proteas on Tuesday.

Rabada was the destroyer-in-chief, taking more than half of the eight wickets that fell on the opening day as India limped to 208 for the loss of eight men in the 59 overs played at SuperSport Park in Centurion. Rain and bad light prevented the bowling of any more overs on the day.

For India, it was only the ever-impressive KL Rahul who passed 50 -- with an unbeaten 70 -- on a tricky day for batting. Rahul and tail-ender Mohammed Siraj will resume play tomorrow morning.

On paper, South Africa's fast-bowling quartet is fast and ferocious, with Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee and debutant Nandre Burger sharing the red leather alongside Rabada. All four are over 1.88m tall and can bowl at more than 140km/h.

But, outside of an early Burger spell, it was only the senior figure of Rabada who hit a consistent probing line and length on a bowling-friendly surface.

South Africa's catching was also...