On the first day of the first test at Centurion on Tuesday, South African seamer Kagiso Rabada took five wickets before India's KL Rahul dug in as bad light and a thunderstorm called play to a halt with the touring side on 208-8.

Rahul was unbroken on 70 when rain and bad visibility interrupted play roughly 80 minutes before the scheduled end, with India fighting off a tired home attack.

Earlier, Rabada's pace was too much for the opposition, as he returned 5-44 off 17 overs, and rookie Nandre Burger got two wickets in his first 13 balls in test cricket.

India, 91-3 at lunch, were pushed back when Rabada took three wickets for 30 runs early in the second session.

He dismissed Shreyas Iyer for 31, got Virat Kohli behind for 38 with a fantastic ball, while Ravichandran Ashwin (8) was caught at second slip by jumping substitute fielder Wiaan Mulder.

Rahul, on the other hand, presented a stumbling barrier for the hosts, who were expected to dismiss India for under 200 on a track designed for their all-seam attack.

Burger, one of two new South African caps, then had Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill caught behind to leave India teetering on 24-3, but Kohli and Iyer led a fightback with a 68-run partnership. Both were dropped after only four runs, with Marco Jansen dropping Iyer and Tony de Zorzi dropping Kohli.

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma suffered a hamstring strain while chasing a boundary-bound drive from Kohli before lunch, forcing him to leave the arena for a scan.

"It revealed a left hamstring strain and he will undergo daily medical evaluations to determine his participation in the match," the club said in a statement.

Bavuma has just returned from a similar injury.