India practically volunteered for a horrible collapse in Guwahati. On a pitch that had runs if you applied yourself for more than 10 minutes, the batting group displayed nothing but impatience, poor judgement and lack of temperament. South Africa didn’t need magic balls or minefield conditions. They simply waited, bowled in tidy channels, and India did the rest. 6 wickets for 27 runs in the span of an hour tells its own story.
After South Africa posted 489 in the first innings and tired out the India bowlers for over 150 overs, everyone thought that we would see a run-filled Indian innings. It started well with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden Test fifty against the Proteas as well. But what followed was something that the Assam crowd would love to forget.
Jaiswal’s start wasted by careless dismissals
Day 3 actually began in reasonably steady fashion. Jaiswal and KL Rahul walked out knowing India needed a long, stubborn morning. And for a while, they showed it. Rahul battled through his usual early struggles against spin before eventually edging one from Keshav Maharaj to slip. Jaiswal played with intent, picking gaps and putting away anything loose to become the first Indian batter in this series to cross fifty. That stat alone should embarrass the dressing room.
But once Jaiswal departed, attempting a late dab against Harmer, everything fell apart. His dismissal showed that the wicket has started to break down. Sai Sudharsan looked fluent but couldn’t resist taking on a pulling option that wasn’t on, holing out to mid-wicket.
Dhruv Jurel lasted a handful of deliveries before Marco Jansen prised him out for a duck. Jurel’s mistimed pull shot was extremely unnecessary. He lacked footwork and conviction and left India reeling at 102/4. If he doesn’t do well in the second innings, we might not see Jurel in the whites anytime soon. By Tea, India had thrown away what should have been a platform.
Pant’s chaos, Jadeja’s freak exit & India’s hour of self-destruction
What followed after lunch was worse. Rishabh Pant was expected to counter-punch. But it all went haywire. Charging at Jansen from ball one, he swung wildly at a back-of-length delivery, edged it, reviewed despite a clear spike, and walked off for 7. It was a reckless shot. And it sucked the oxygen out of the dressing room. The Proteas were thrilled.
Nitish Kumar Reddy was next, fending off a Jansen short ball that ballooned off the glove. Markram’s one-handed dive at second slip was stunning, and it all goes well when a team is on top. Then came the dismissal that summed up the day. Ravindra Jadeja turning away from a short ball, the ball clipping his shoulder, then the toe-end of the bat before looping to gully.
By the time the dust settled, India had lost six wickets for 27 runs. No fight, no consolidation, no sense of the match situation. South Africa didn’t need to do anything extraordinary as India simply gifted them the match.
And when Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav showed the batters how to bat. Together, they stitched a 92-run stand and batted more balls than anyone else in the Indian lineup. In fact, Kuldeep played 134 balls. Only Senuran Muthusamy stayed in the middle longer than him.
With India skittled for 201, South Africa, after some deliberation, chose not to enforce the follow-on. The move worked out perfectly as Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton remained unbeaten, and the Proteas ended the day 26/0, with a lead of 314.
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