Guwahati, Nov 24 (IANS) The chatter ahead of the third day’s play in the second Test at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium was whether India could make runs quickly to claw back in the game they need to win to level the series. But by the time bad light brought an early end to the proceedings, South Africa ended by being in complete command, dismissing India for 201 and reaching 26/0 in eight overs, extending their lead over India to 314 runs.
Openers Ryan Rickelton (13) and Aiden Markram (12) were at the crease when bad light forced stumps to be taken early.
Tall left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen produced a devastating spell and picked 6-48 to bundle India out for 201 in reply to South Africa’s 489. It was Jansen’s fourth five-wicket haul in Tests and capped a remarkable all-round performance after his 93 with the bat in the first innings. His short-ball barrage broke India’s middle-order and left them at 122/7. Jansen also became only the third left-arm fast-bowler to take a five-wicket haul in India after Zaheer Khan and Mitchell Johnson. On a surface offering little assistance, Jansen’s variations of length from a consistent line proved to be decisive.
Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored for India with 58, before Washington Sundar (48) and Kuldeep Yadav (19) offered resistance and showed great application in a defiant 72-run stand off 208 balls. Off-spinner Simon Harmer eventually ended Sundar’s defiance. At the same time, Jansen returned with the second new ball to dismiss Kuldeep and Jasprit Bumrah to bowl out India just after crossing the 200-run mark.
With a 1-0 lead in hand, current World Test Championship (WTC) winners South Africa are closing in on their first series win in India since 2000. India, meanwhile, face mounting pressure in the face of their second series loss at home in two years and now require a miracle to secure a series-levelling win.
In the morning, resuming from 9/0 in 6.1 overs, Jaiswal and KL Rahul began on a watchful note and negotiated the threat from spinners with utmost care. The duo took four boundaries collectively off Jansen and Wiaan Mulder, before South Africa brought on their spinners.
With the spinners finding turn at times, Rahul began to use his feet while Jaiswal looked for sweep and slog-sweep – something which fetched him boundaries against Keshav Maharaj and Harmer. At the stroke of the first drinks break, Rahul’s discomfort against the turning ball eventually cost him when he went for forward defence on a slower ball from Maharaj and edged to first slip to fall for 22.
Back at No. 3, B. Sai Sudharsan looked fluent from the outset through his cover drives reaching the boundary ropes twice. Meanwhile, Jaiswal continued to show intent against spin and reached his 13th Test fifty – the first half-century by an Indian batter in this series.
But his progress was cut short when, in an attempt to play a late dab off Harmer, the ball stopped slightly and the outside edge was caught by short third-man, completing a sharp diving grab. Sudharsan’s attacking approach then caused his downfall as he pulled a short-ball from Harmer, which was caught by mid-wicket, who held on to the chase at the second attempt, and fell for 15.
India were pushed on the back foot at the stroke of tea break when Dhruv Jurel looked to pull him from well outside off-stump, and that miscued execution resulted in mid-on moving across to his right to complete a diving catch, as the young wicketkeeper-batter fell for an eleven-ball duck.
India’s hopes of mounting a fightback after the tea break quickly unravelled when Rishabh Pant, who was seen as the one batter capable of counterattacking against the Proteas, fell for just seven. Pant’s attempt to take on Marco Jansen backfired when he danced down the pitch for a wild slog, but only edged behind the keeper and burnt a review.
Jansen then used his height to extract a steep bounce that forced Nitish Kumar Reddy into fending a rising delivery and was brilliantly caught for 10 by a diving gully, who completed the grab with one hand.
Sundar, India’s best batter at No. 3 in Kolkata, came at eight and could just see Jansen continuing to wreak havoc with his barrage of short deliveries – the latest of which climbed steeply onto Ravindra Jadeja, deflected off his shoulder and then took the outside edge to second slip to dismiss him for six.
Sundar finally managed to get going by flaying Jansen for four, before using his long reach to smack Harmer for six. India survived a close call when Harmer’s appeal for lbw against Kuldeep was sent upstairs, only for replays to show the ball had brushed the glove before looping up to short leg.
Kuldeep and Sundar then dug in, displaying solid defence and application, something which was missing in their other batting colleagues, to frustrate South Africa. Kuldeep, in particular, looked assured against spin, thus underlining that the pitch held no demons. As the ball grew older, batting became easier for both Kuldeep and Sundar till lunch arrived.
Sundar and Kuldeep began the final session by adding valuable runs against the off-spin bowling pair of Harmer and Markram. With Sundar going solid and Kuldeep showing remarkable application, South Africa introduced centurion Senuran Muthusamy in the line-up, but without any success.
Just before the second new ball was taken, Harmer produced a decisive moment by deceiving Sundar with a dip on a fuller delivery. Sundar pushed at it with hard hands and edged to first slip to depart for 46. Jansen then sealed his five-wicket haul in the very first over of the second new ball. Kuldeep, after having declined a single to shield Bumrah, was undone by a steep bounce and edged to second slip, giving Markram his fifth catch of the innings.
India’s innings came to a close in a dramatic fashion when Bumrah was undone by a nasty bouncer from Jansen and was caught by the keeper, giving the all-rounder his six-wicket haul and completing one of the finest all‑round performances by a visiting player in Tests in India.
After South Africa decided against enforcing the follow-on and opted to bat again, Rickelton began straightaway by punching Jasprit Bumrah through cover, before Markram found the edge wide of second slip to get another boundary of the opening over.
After Markram punched Mohammed Siraj through extra cover for four, India tried making things happen by Bumrah changing his angle, with an over each of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav being bowled as well.
But by the time the day ended, South Africa put themselves in a formidable position to win the match and series, while India are facing the prospect of losing their second series at home in two years.
Brief scores:
South Africa 489 and 26/0 in 8 overs (Ryan Rickelton 13 not out, Aiden Markram 12 not out) lead India 201 all out in 83.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Washington Sundar 48; Marco Jansen 6-48, Simon Harmer 3-64) by 314 runs
–IANS
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