India’s openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal were off to a smooth start to their innings, finishing Day 2 at 9/0 in 6.1 overs against South Africa at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium. Poor light brought an early end to play, leaving India trailing South Africa by 480 runs.
Earlier, South Africa had posted a mammoth 489 in their first innings, thanks to Senuran Muthusamy’s maiden Test century of 109 and Marco Jansen’s explosive 93. Both batters played career-best knocks that put South Africa in a commanding position.
In reply, India were off to a cautious start as Rahul and Jaiswal handled the new ball well, with Jaiswal hitting India’s first boundary by flicking a ball from Jansen through square leg. With Jansen and Wiaan Mulder bowling economically, the openers kept things under control until stumps. With three days left, India faces huge pressure to save the Test and level the series.
Muthusamy had batted with calm and patience, hitting 10 fours and two sixes in his century, while Jansen was aggressive, smashing seven sixes and four fours for his 93. For India, Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each. Simon Harmer was the only South African batter to fail to reach double figures.
The final session of the day saw Siraj provide a breakthrough by dismissing Muthusamy, who attempted a hook but was caught at fine leg, ending his career-best 109. Jansen continued to dominate, hitting two towering sixes off Jadeja and adding more boundaries off Siraj to push South Africa past 440. Bumrah later bowled Simon Harmer, but Jansen remained defiant, sharing an 18-run last-wicket partnership with Keshav Maharaj.
Jansen fell just short of his maiden Test century, chopping a Kuldeep googly onto the stumps for 93. His innings, featuring seven sixes, was one of the most explosive by a lower-order batter in India. South Africa’s huge total puts them in a strong position to push for a rare series win in India.
Brief scores
South Africa 489 in 151.1 overs (Senuran Muthusamy 109, Marco Jansen 93, Tristan Stubbs 49; Kuldeep Yadav 4/115) lead India 9/0 in 6.1 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 7 not out, KL Rahul 2 not out) by 480 runs.