India in trouble as SA's Jansen leads with 6 wickets in Guwahati
India in trouble as SA's Jansen leads with 6 wickets in Guwahati
South Africa seize the advantage in Guwahati as India struggle to post a big total, with Jansen's six-for and Sundar's defiant 48 guiding a tense battle.
India found itself in trouble again as South Africa tightened the screws in Guwahati, bowled out for 201 and leaving the visitors with a commanding position. Washington Sundar, the all-rounder who emerged as India’s top scorer with 48, conceded there were runs to be made on a pitch he described as a true road. “It was a very good wicket and a true wicket. You don’t often get to bat on such tracks, especially in India. If you spend time, there are runs to be made. You can’t really contain runs for a very long period of time,” Sundar said.
Batters including Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant paid the price for aggressive strokes when a calmer approach was required, and Sundar explained there were no fixed targets to chase the run rate on a five-day surface. “In a five-day match, I don’t think you have to worry about run rate, especially against a quality bowling attack. If anything, we would have probably planned for tomorrow (to up the rate).” He added that there were no set plans as to how much needed to be scored today.
Sundar also defended his teammates’ shot choices, noting, “On another day, both [Pant and Jurel’s] shots would have gone into the stands, and we would have appreciated and clapped. That’s how it is.” He urged backing their plans and skill sets, acknowledging that execution did not go India’s way. “Sometimes you just have to back their plans and their skill sets as well, given the fact that they have shown a lot of proof and evidence in the past. Obviously, execution didn’t go the way we wanted.”
The bowling on the other hand belonged to South Africa. Marco Jansen was outstanding, finishing with six wickets while Simon Harmer chipped in with three, stacking the deck against an Indian top order that looked rattled at 119/6 at one point after a remarkable one-handed catch by Aiden Markram at second slip electrified the crowd. The grab, a defining moment of the session, left India in deeper trouble as they tried to recover on a pitch that had been described in some quarters as a road.
With India bowled out for 201, South Africa carried a sizable lead into the middle session and were in a position to press for a dominant result. The Proteas opted not to enforce the follow-on, a decision that signaled their intent to push towards a historic series victory. As the day closed, India faced a daunting task to deny a series defeat, while South Africa looked set to seal a match that would tilt the three-match series in their favor.
Cover image source: India vs South Africa 2nd Test: India in trouble as South African bowlers remove top order 🔗
