Senuran Muthusamy's maiden Test hundred and Marco Jansen's well-made 93 have put South Africa in the driver's seat in the Guwahati Test against India. Muthusamy, whose highest score before this inning was 11, smashed 109, while Jansen made a quick-fire 93 as the Proteas ended their innings on 489.
India came out to bat for a little bit of time on what was a belter of a track on Day 2, with Indian spinners failing to weave their magic at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium. Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul went back unbeaten on seven and two, respectively, with the hosts making 9/0 from 6.1 overs before stumps were called a bit early due to the fading light.
Indian spinners fail to weave magic on flat track
India would be disappointed by the lack of penetrability by their spinners on a flat track in Guwahati on Day 2. Singer-spinners - Ravindra Jadeja (2/94 in 28 overs) and Washington Sundar (0/58 in 26 overs) failed to make breakthroughs, with Jasprit Bumrah being the only one who troubled the batters a bit.
He led the attack with characteristic grit and even managed to get the ball to reverse briefly in the second session. But without any sustained pressure from Jadeja and Sundar, even his energy eventually dipped.
Once Muthusamy and Verreynne survived the first session, the second became a breeze. Jansen repeatedly planted his front foot and lofted Jadeja and Kuldeep over long-on, shattering the Indian attack’s confidence.
India hope for batters to shine
India will now hope their own batters can make use of these favourable conditions and keep the contest alive. The last time an opposition scored over 450 in India and still lost was in Chennai in 2016 - the match in which Karun Nair struck a triple century after England posted 477 in the first innings. Jadeja, of course, turned the game with a seven-wicket haul in the second innings.
On red-soil pitches, the surface generally holds firm for the first two days before crumbling rapidly thereafter. India will be hoping Jadeja can rediscover that old magic once the conditions start to favour him.
