Aiden Markram and Alzarri Joseph starred as honors were shared on day one of the first Test between the West Indies and South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday.

The hosts won the toss and decided to bat first, a decision that was proven to be the right one as Markram and Dean Elgar put on 141 for the first wicket before Elgar was dismissed for 71 by Joseph in the 36^th over.

That brought debutant Tony de Zorzi to the crease to join Markram and the pair brought the score up to 221-1 in the 57^th over before de Zorzi was run out for 28.

Before that partnership was ended, Markram, making his return to the Test side after being dropped last year. Brought up his fifth Test hundred off 150 balls.

Two balls after de Zorzi’s wicket, Temba Bavuma, in his first innings as South Africa’s Test Captain, was dismissed for a duck.

Four overs later, Markram’s knock finally came to an end when he was bowled by Joseph for a classy 115. His innings came off 174 balls and included 18 fours.

Markram’s wicket started a collapse for South Africa as they lost their next four wickets for 64 runs as Heinrich Klaasen (20), Senuran Muthusamy (3), Keegan Petersen (14) and Kagiso Rabada (8) all fell in quick succession.

South Africa ended the day 314-8 off 82 overs with Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee on 17 and 11, respectively.

Alzarri Joseph has, so far, taken 3-60 off 16 overs for the Windies.

Scores: South Africa 314-8 off 82 overs (Aiden Markram 115, Dean Elgar 71, Alzarri Joseph 3-60)

West Indies Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite wants his troops to put recent series against Australia and Zimbabwe in the past as they gear up to take on South Africa in the first of three Test matches beginning in Centurion on Tuesday.

The regional side lost 0-2 away to Australia in December last year before beating Zimbabwe 1-0 in January 2023.

"I think Australia is obviously history and the Test series in Zimbabwe, obviously a different calibre team, it was good to get a series with them. I think looking here at the South African team, they still have a lot of experience," Brathwaite said at the press conference before the first Test.

"They have got world class bowlers and some quality batsmen, so we have to play some very good Test cricket and it is important that we take control of every hour and we don't think about the big picture. If we take control of every hour, every session, I think we can do well," he added.

The West Indies had three good batting displays against the Zimbabweans, producing scores of 447-6 declared, 203-5 declared and 292.

Individually, Brathwaite’s opening partner Tagenarine Chanderpaul notched his maiden Test double ton while Raymon Reifer, Jermaine Blackwood and Roston Chase all hit fifties. Joshua Da Silva and Jason Holder both made half centuries in the warm-up match against a South Africa Invitational XI ahead of this series.

Brathwaite hopes this form can carry over into the first Test and beyond.

“It is important that we have a team effort in South Africa. So, it's good to see the top order getting some scores in Zimbabwe and the middle-order in the practice games before the first Test. It's great. It's important we put all the pieces together in this series," he said.

The 30-year-old also encouraged his bowlers ahead of the first Test.

"I think we look forward to bowling at any batting lineup in the world," Brathwaite said.

"We won't be focusing on what the teams have done in the past. It's important that we hit our straps and discipline is very important. We need to stick to our plans and the results will take care of themselves," he added.

South Africa are coming off a 0-2 defeat at the hands of the Aussies themselves and are in a transitional period with Temba Bavuma taking charge in his first series as Test Captain after taking the reins from Dean Elgar.

The first Test bowls off on Tuesday.