India’s openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal made sure the team ended the day safely at 9/0 in 6.1 overs on day two against South Africa at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Poor light stopped play early again, leaving India 480 runs behind.
Earlier, South Africa put up a strong total of 489 in their first innings, powered by Senuran Muthusamy’s maiden Test century of 109 and Marco Jansen’s attacking 93. Both players posted their best Test scores, giving South Africa a solid chance of at least drawing the match.
India began their innings calmly, with Rahul and Jaiswal handling the new ball with patience. Jaiswal hit India’s first boundary when he flicked a leg-side delivery from Jansen to square leg.
With Jansen and Wiaan Mulder bowling tightly, India focused on surviving until stumps. With three days still left, India face heavy pressure to level the series and avoid a second home-series defeat in two years.
Earlier in the day, Muthusamy showed his steady batting once again, scoring a fine century that included 10 fours and two sixes. Jansen’s fluent 93 featured six fours and seven sixes, helping South Africa build a strong position in the match.
For India, Kuldeep Yadav took four wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Ravindra Jadeja picked up two each. Simon Harmer was the only South African batter who didn’t reach double digits in an otherwise dominant innings.
In the final session, Siraj finally removed Muthusamy when he mistimed a hook and was caught at fine leg, ending his excellent knock of 109 after frustrating India since coming in at 201/5.
Jansen kept attacking, hitting two big sixes off Jadeja and then a four and six off Siraj, pushing South Africa past 440 before Bumrah bowled Simon Harmer. Jansen continued finding boundaries and added 18 runs for the last wicket with Keshav Maharaj.
However, Jansen missed out on a maiden Test hundred by seven runs, getting bowled for 93 by a Kuldeep googly. His seven sixes were the joint-most by a lower-order batter in an innings in India. With South Africa posting a total higher than any first-innings score a team has ever made and still lost a Test in India, they are well placed to chase a rare series win on Indian soil.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 489 in 151.1 overs (Senuran Muthusamy 109, Marco Jansen 93; Kuldeep Yadav 4-115, Jasprit Bumrah 2-75) lead India 9/0 in 6.1 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 7*, KL Rahul 2*) by 480 runs.
(With IANS inputs)
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