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 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 Jansen clearing the fence multiple times. The No. 9 batter 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 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. 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 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.
