Burger earned his maiden Test cap in the Boxing Day fixture on the back of his impressive outings in recent white-ball matches. The Gauteng pacer, known for his express pace, immediately found his rhythm while bowling against India’s top order in the murky, overcast conditions at Centurion.

Former England captain Kelvin Petersen applauded Burger for the speeds he reached on his first day as a Test cricketer but gave him a piece of advice on social media: “I like Nandre Burger. I like his pace a lot. The only thing I’d like even more is if he didn’t smile as much and got more aggressive!

“Smiling at batters gives them a small win every single time,” reckoned Pietersen, wanting him to “Bowl fast, seriously fast” and not “smile after most deliveries.”

I like Nandre Burger. I like his pace a lot. The only thing I’d like even more, is if he didn’t smile as much and got more aggressive!
Smiling at batters gives them a small win every single time.
Bowl fast, seriously fast and DO NOT smile after most deliveries!

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) December 26, 2023

Burger made early inroads in his second over, drawing Yashasvi Jaiswal forward for a cover drive, nicking him off to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne. Coincidentally, Burger will ply his trade for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming IPL 2024 and play alongside Jaiswal, also a part of the franchise.

An over later, he strangled Shubman Gill off his pads with a 142 kmph delivery, sending the batter packing for 2 (12). India were teetering at 24-3, with Burger playing a role in all of the first three dismissals as Rohit Sharma holed out to him earlier while playing a pull shot against Kagiso Rabada.

India were 208-8 at stumps on a rain-hit first day, with KL Rahul 70 (105) still at the crease. Kagiso Rabada ended with 5-44, aided by Burger’s 2-50 and Marco Jansen’s 1-52.