A day after smashing a blazing 91-ball 93 in Guwahati to help South Africa post a daunting 489 in the second Test, 6-foot-8 pacer Marco Jansen returned to star with the ball, taking 6 for 48 on Day 3 to put the visitors on the brink of a 25-year repeat. On the same pitch that Kuldeep Yadav had likened to a “road”, Marco Jansen’s burst skittled India for just 201, before South Africa stretched their lead to 314 with one wicket down in the second innings.
Marco Jansen became the fourth South African fast bowler to pick up a five-wicket haul in India in a Test match, joining the likes of Lance Klusener (8/64, Kolkata, 1996), Dale Steyn ( 5/23 in Ahmedabad, 2008, and 7/51 in Nagpur, 2010), and Kyle Abbot (5/40 in Delhi in 2015). Marco Jansen also became the third left-arm quick to pick up a fifer in India since 1988, after Zaheer Khan (thrice) and Mitchell Johnson (Mohali, 2010).
Marco Jansen’s 6 for 48 was also the best bowling performance by a left-arm quick in a Test match in India in 46 years, the last of its kind witnessed in 1979, by Australia’s Geoff Dymock (7/67) in Kanpur. And with the bowling performance being part of his all-round heroics, he became the second South African after Nicky Boje (Bengaluru, 2000) to score a fifty and pick up a five-wicket haul in a Test match in India since the start of this millennium. The only other visiting player to achieve this feat was West Indies’ Jason Holder (Hyderabad, 2008).
Marco Jansen’s modus operandi in claiming his six wickets was the short ball. The tactic earned him all six scalps for just 19 runs across 62 deliveries.
Since 2006, only three other fast bowlers have taken six wickets in a Test innings using short-pitched bowling: New Zealand’s Neil Wagner (twice — against Australia in 2016 and the West Indies in 2017) and Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani against Ireland in 2025. In Asian conditions, only two bowlers have previously taken five wickets with short balls — Yasir Arafat against India in Bengaluru (2007) and Anrich Nortje against Pakistan in Rawalpindi (2021).
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch report : “Red soil pitch, the grass cover is substantial. Good pitch, it’s nice and hard. With the early start, with the fact there’s a bit of cloud, there’ll be a little bit of moisture on the deck. Bat first and negotiate the first hour. We’ll have to wait and see if there’ll be spin. Looks like a really good Test pitch.” reckons Deep Dasgupta and Shaun Pollock in their pitch report.
Toss : South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat with Senuran Muthusamy coming in for Corbin Bosch. Indian skipper Rishabh Pant in absence of Shubman Gill made 2 changes bringing in Nitish Kumar Reddy and Sai Sudharsan in the Playing XI.
Day 1 : India nose ahead with regular strikes on opening day in Guwahati
It was a day of promising starts and a couple of 80-run stands but the opening day of the Guwahati Test ended with India nosing slightly ahead. Each of the top seven batters got into double digits but only Tristan Stubbs and Temba Bavuma crossed 40 as India made regular incisions to ensure South Africa did not get away. Kuldeep Yadav bagged three while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja picked up a wicket apiece to leave the visitors at 247/6 at the end of the first day’s play at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.
Opting to bat, South Africa got off to a good start, with their openers adding 82. Aiden Markram had an early reprieve, put down at second slip by KL Rahul off Bumrah when he was on 4. He capitalised on the miss as he and Ryan Rickelton helped South Africa add 34 in the first hour without any damage.
The pair grew in confidence as their partnership progressed, getting regular boundaries. Nitish Reddy, one of two inclusions for India in this game, did not have the best of starts, going for 21 in his first four overs, as the South African openers raised their second half-century stand in this series.
There was bounce on offer, and some spin too, but the openers negotiated that well and looked set to take South Africa through the first session unscathed. However, Bumrah came back towards the end of the session and just on the brink of Tea, got Markram (38) inside-edging onto the stumps attempting a drive away from his body. This left South Africa at 82/1 heading into the Tea break.
Kuldeep got the other set opener right at the start of the second session, with Rickelton edging to the ‘keeper to depart for 35. But India had to contend with another stubborn partnership as Bavuma and Stubbs showcased their application to keep the Indian bowlers at bay for the rest of the session. The pair also did not allow the scoreboard to stagnate, ensuring they cashed in on the loose deliveries and rotated the strike well. Bavuma struck two successive fours in an over off Siraj, while Stubbs wasn’t afraid to go aerial despite a fielder being placed in the deep as he struck a six off Kuldeep.
India, meanwhile, lost a review when Bavuma missed a sweep off Jadeja, with replays revealing the ball was sliding down. Bavuma went on to bring up 1000 Test runs as captain, getting there in his 20th innings which made him the joint second quickest for South Africa. Both Bavuma and Stubbs entered the 30s, extending the partnership past 70, as they took South Africa to 156/2 at Lunch.
Stubbs and Bavuma began positively after the break, striking a boundary apiece before the South African skipper decided to give the charge to Jadeja and ended up lofting it to deep mid-off, ending a partnership worth 84. Stubbs closed in on a half-century with a four off Bumrah and a six off Jadeja. But Kuldeep ended his stay on 49, finding the outside edge to leave South Africa at 187/4. It became 201/5 as Kuldeep struck again, with Wiaan Mulder handing a catch to mid off trying to go over the top.
Tony de Zorzi ensured South Africa continued to add to their tally despite losing quick wickets, as the left-hander hit a four and a six in an over off Kuldeep. Senuran Muthusamy, coming in for Corbin Bosch, gave good support from the other end and also managed a couple of boundaries off Washington Sundar. However, yet another promising knock came to an end in an abrupt fashion as de Zorzi fell to the second new ball, poking at a delivery that seamed away from Siraj in the final over before Stumps.
Day 2 : SA in pole position after Senuran Muthusamy’s maiden ton and Marco Jansen’s 93
Senuran Muthusamy’s maiden Test hundred and Marco Jansen’s fine knock of 93 headlined South Africa’s impressive lower order batting show as the visitors posted a daunting 489 on the board on Day 2 of the second Test in Guwahati. Starting the day at 247/6, South Africa rode on Muthusamy and Marco Jansen’s contrasting knocks as they added 243 runs for the last four wickets to finish with a sizeable total. In reply, India were 9/0 at Stumps.
India’s discipline vs South Africa’s application traded blows on the second morning but it was the latter that emerged in front, thanks to Muthusamy’s fine knock and good support from Kyle Verreynne. Although the pitch wasn’t troubling the batters much, run-scoring wasn’t easy either, which meant an attritional session ensued. India, operating with the second new ball, started with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, while Kuldeep was also introduced a bit later.
They kept things tight with a string of maidens but Muthusamy and Verreynne ensured the hosts did not make any inroads in the first hour. Only 28 runs came in this period, in 13.1 overs, but the batters remained steadfast.
The second hour of the first session yielded 41 runs in 16 overs as the battle of patience continued. Muthusamy and Verreynne extended their partnership past 50 and took South Africa past 300, with the former also reviewing successfully when he was given out lbw in Ravindra Jadeja’s over trying to sweep – replays revealed there was glove involved. Muthusamy went on to bring up a 121-ball fifty while Verreynne moved into the late 30s as the pair went into the Tea break unbeaten, taking South Africa to 316/6.
India lost their second review early in the second session when Bumrah thought he had Verreynne caught down the leg-side, only for replays to confirm that the ball had made contact with the batter’s leg instead. Verreynne was looking good for a half-century but fell five short of it when he came down the track to Jadeja, who kept it wide of the batter to have him stumped, ending a partnership worth 88 that lasted for close to 40 overs.
Marco Jansen and Muthusamy then decided to attack, getting sixes off Jadeja and Washington Sundar to take South Africa past 350. Their positive batting continued after the drinks break, with Marco Jansen clearing the fence multiple times.
The No. 9 batter Marco Jansen also struck boundaries off Bumrah while Muthusamy had a close shave when he top-edged a pull off India’s premium pacer and saw the ball land short of Siraj, who opted against a dive as the ball landed in front of him. The eighth wicket pair raised a brisk half-century stand to take South Africa past 400.
Muthusamy raced towards the three-figure mark as he struck a six and a four off Kuldeep, followed by a single, to get to 99. He got to the milestone with a couple off Siraj and received a rousing applause from the dressing room as he received a hug from Marco Jansen, who then got to his fifty. Only one wicket fell in the second session as the eighth wicket pair extended their partnership to 94, taking South Africa to 428/7 at Lunch, with 112 runs coming in the session in 26 overs, at a rate of more than 4 an over.
The partnership finally came to an end on 97 when Siraj struck at the start of the final session, getting Muthusamy to pull to fine leg. Jansen then stepped on the pedal, hitting two sixes in an over off Jadeja, followed by a four and a six off Siraj to take South Africa past the 450-mark.
Simon Harmer, who hung around for 17 deliveries, was bowled by Bumrah. Marco Jansen then received Keshav Maharaj’s support as South Africa continued to add to their tally, with the allrounder entering the 90s. However, amidst the fading light, he missed out on a well-deserved hundred as he inside-edged a Kuldeep delivery onto the stumps, ending a final wicket stand worth 27.
Yashasvi Jaiswal flicked a Marco Jansen delivery for a four in the opening over to get going but the Indian openers were otherwise circumspect, defending and shouldering arms most of the time as they tried to get India through the period with the light also not getting any better. Both Jaiswal and KL Rahul were unbeaten when the umpires decided to call off the day’s play early due to poor light.
Day 3 : Marco Jansen’s six-fer puts South Africa in firm command on Day 3 vs clueless Indian batting.
After taking a 288-run first innings lead, South Africa were 26 for no loss in their second essay at stumps on Day 3 as the visitors took control of the second Test against India here on Monday. Openers Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram were batting on 13 and 12 respectively at the end of the day’s play.
South Africa faced eight overs in the final session after dismissing India for 201 in 83.5 overs in their first innings. The Proteas, who had made 489 in their first innings, are now 314 runs ahead overall with two days left in the Test. The visitors had won the first Test by 30 runs in Kolkata.
In India’s first innings, only Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 off 97 balls) and Washington Sundar (48 off 92 balls) could contribute substantially as the home team suffered a batting collapse after starting the day at 9 for no loss. Four Indian wickets tumbled in the opening session, reaching 102 for 4 at tea. Three more Indian batters fell in the second session.
Washington and Kuldeep Yadav (19 off 134 balls) gave a stubborn resistance after India were reduced to 122 for 7 in the second session, stitching a 72-run partnership for the eighth wicket before the former was out. South Africa then wrapped up the two remaining Indian wickets easily. Kuldeep was out after the Proteas took the new ball in the final session of the day.
Marco Jansen was the wrecker in chief with figures of 6/48 while Simon Harmer took three wickets for 64 runs. At lunch, India were struggling at 174 for 7 in 67 overs. KL Rahul (22), Sai Sudharsan (15), Dhruv Jurel (0), captain Rishabh Pant (7), Ravindra Jadeja (6) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (10) fell cheaply.
Also Read: IND VS SA: Ravindra Jadeja’s 4-Wicket Haul Sinks South Africa In The Evening Session.