Bedingham, 29, has played English county cricket for Durham since 2020 and there was speculation he would attempt to qualify for England.
But South Africa’s new Test coach Shukri Conrad called him for the Test team and he looked comfortable from the beginning of his innings.
A tall right-handed player, he made his Test debut in 86 first-class matches with a solid average of 49.51, 44 of which were for Durham. He hit seven fours and two sixes in his 87-ball innings while helping Elgar add 131 runs for the fourth wicket.
South Africa added 145 runs for the loss of two wickets in 33 overs in the extended afternoon session to compensate for the poor overs on the rain-affected first day.
But India came back strongly after tea, with Siraj bowling Bedingham full ball and debutant Prasidh Krishna getting his first Test wicket when Kyle Warren bowled outside his off stump and was caught behind. .