Aiden Markram hit a commanding century before West Indies made a strong comeback with late wickets against South Africa in the final session of the first Test here on Tuesday.
Markram scored his sixth Test century, opening the batting with Dean Elgar, who also impressed at the top of the order with a fine 71. But the West Indies responded brilliantly after tea, taking seven wickets in a superb display of fast bowling as the Proteas fell from 221/1 at one point to 314/8 at the end of Day 1.
It was South Africa who won the toss, and the openers put on 99 runs in the opening session, with Dean Elgar reaching his half-century shortly before lunch on the first day.
The excellent Alzarri Joseph dismissed Elgar for 71, but that was the end of the good news for West Indies in the second session, as Markram and debutant Tony de Zorzi made the most of the Centurion sunshine.
The pair formed an excellent partnership throughout the afternoon, reaching the interval at 206/1, with the tenacious De Zorzi providing support as Markram progressed through the gears. The fluent right-hander ended a two-year wait for a Test century, giving him six tonnes in his Test career.
The West Indies appeared to be in trouble as South Africa built a sizable first-innings lead, but De Zorzi was run out looking for a third run, and South Africa collapsed from that point on in the evening session.
Captain Bavuma went without scoring yet again, and Joseph picked up his third wicket when he dismissed Markram for 115 with a yorker that arrowed into the stumps.
Wickets continued to fall as the four-pronged West Indian pace attack wreaked havoc with the old ball, ably supported by Kyle Mayers' handy medium-pace and Roston Chase's controlled spin.
Joseph finished with the best figures of 3/60, while Mayers, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, and Kemar Roach each had one wicket.
Brief scores: South Africa 314/8 (Markram 115, Elgar 71; Joseph 3-60) vs West Indies