South Africa's bowlers, led by Marco Jansen's career-best performance, dismissed India for 201 on the third day of the second Test in Guwahati. The Proteas, already holding a first-innings total of 489, ended the day at 26 without loss, extending their lead to 314 runs. This positions them strongly for a potential series victory.
The second Test between South Africa and India at the Dr Bhupen Hazarika Cricket Stadium in Guwahati saw the Proteas dominate proceedings on day three. After posting 489 in their first innings, South Africa's seamers and spinners dismantled the Indian batting lineup, restricting them to 201 all out. Key contributions came from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal with 58 and Washington Sundar with 58, but the middle order collapsed dramatically.
Marco Jansen emerged as the standout performer, claiming 6-48 for his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests and his first abroad. The towering left-armer, standing over 2 meters tall, exploited the pitch's bounce effectively. His bouncers troubled several batsmen, leading to catches at slip by Aiden Markram off Ravindra Jadeja (6) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (10). In a devastating spell, Jansen and spinner Simon Harmer (3-64) took seven wickets for 25 runs in just nine overs. This included quick dismissals of Dhruv Jurel (0), who pulled a wide delivery, and Rishabh Pant (7), who charged down the pitch.
India's innings began promisingly with a 65-run opening stand between KL Rahul (22) and Jaiswal. Later, Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav (19) added 72 runs to push the total past 200. However, earlier errors, including Rahul's departure, left the hosts vulnerable.
At stumps, South Africa reached 26 for 0, with Ryan Rickelton on 13 not out and Aiden Markram on 12 not out, opting not to enforce the follow-on. Jansen assessed the pitch as balanced: “It is still a good wicket, it is not a bad wicket. If you bowl well, you will get wickets. If you bat well, you will score runs, in my opinion. There is a bit of pace, there is a bit of bounce. The ball is starting to turn a little bit as well.” He anticipates spinners gaining more influence as the match progresses.
With two days remaining, captain Temba Bavuma and coach Shukri Conrad face a crucial decision on declaration timing. Aiming for a first Test series win in India in 25 years, Jansen noted: “We’ll assess tomorrow and see how tomorrow goes... For now, the focus is just to try and get as many runs as possible.” The Proteas' strategy will balance setting a challenging target against avoiding a draw.