NEW DELHI: South Africa took control of the second Test in Guwahati by reaching 489 in their first innings on Sunday, as Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen added crucial lower-order runs against India’s finger spinners in good batting conditions.India, trailing 0-1 in the series, reached nine for no loss in 6.1 overs before bad light stopped play.
Muthusamy, who had made an unbeaten 89 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi last month, scored his maiden Test century. He made 109 off 206 balls. Jansen attacked the spinners and hit 93 from 91 balls.South Africa’s last four batters added 243 runs. Muthusamy and Kyle Verreynne put on 88 for the seventh wicket, and Muthusamy and Jansen added 97 for the ninth wicket.Jansen struck seven sixes, the most by an overseas batter in a Test innings in India, going past Viv Richards and Matthew Hayden, who had hit six each.South Africa batted for 151.1 overs. All five Indian bowlers delivered at least 25 overs, the first time this has happened in a single innings.Stand-in captain Rishabh Pant could not find a plan B, and the pitch at the Barsapara Stadium did not show any wear.Kuldeep Yadav took 4 for 115 in 29.1 overs but bowled quicker than on day one. But most of the focus fell on India’s two finger spinners — Ravindra Jadeja (2 for 94 in 28 overs) and Washington Sundar (0 for 58 in 26 overs). Their figures did not reflect the lack of impact they had. The second day offered good batting conditions, and neither spinner got turn or bounce. They bowled at a pace that allowed the batters to defend comfortably.Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 75 in 32 overs) was the only bowler who created some pressure and briefly got reverse swing in the second session. But without support at the other end, the pressure faded.The performance of Jadeja and Sundar again raised questions that have come up in the past about their ability to make breakthroughs on surfaces that do not offer early turn. Both play a large amount of white-ball cricket, which has influenced their pace in Tests. Bowling quicker in T20s limits deviation in the air and off the surface, and in Tests batters can wait for loose balls rather than attack every delivery.After Muthusamy and Verreynne handled the first session, the second session became easier. Jansen repeatedly stepped out and hit Jadeja and Kuldeep over long-on, affecting the confidence of the Indian attack.India will hope to use the batting conditions to stay in the game. The last time a visiting team made more than 450 in India and still lost was in Chennai in 2016, when Karun Nair scored a triple century and Jadeja took a seven-wicket haul in the second innings. No team has lost a Test in India after scoring as many as South Africa’s 489 in the first innings.Red-soil pitches usually stay firm for two days before breaking up later, and India will hope Jadeja can find similar form if conditions change.
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