Senuran Muthusamy, Marco Jansen power South Africa to dominant 489; India 9/0 at stumps

Senuran Muthusamy’s emphatic maiden Test century and Marco Jansen’s fiery 93 took South Africa to a stunning first innings score of 489 on Day 2 of the second Test at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium. In contrast, India managed to navigate a difficult six-over spell in the fading light and finished the day at 9/0, still 480 runs behind.

The visitors, who started the day with an overnight score of 247/6, successfully frustrated the Indian bowlers for almost two full sessions. The day was dominated by the lower caste, especially Muthusamy, who displayed remarkable composure. The all-rounder anchored the innings at a steady 109, hitting 10 fours and two sixes. He first partnered Kyle Verreynne (45) to put together an 88-run partnership and later teamed up with Jansen to put together a demoralizing 97-run stand for the eighth wicket.

While Muthusamy wore out the bowlers, Jansen brought the excitement. The tall left-hander used his long range effectively and broke India’s morale by smashing seven sixes in his counter-attacking overs. He narrowly missed out on his own maiden century and unfortunately had Kuldeep Yadav pinned at stumps in the 93rd over.

It was a day full of hard work for India. Kuldeep Yadav stood out among the bowlers with figures of 4/115, while Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets each. The home side struggled to finish off the tail end, allowing the Proteas to add a significant 242 runs to their score on the night.

Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul endured a tense 20-minute spell with the new ball as bad light led to an early end to the day. India now face a significant challenge to remain competitive in the match on Day 3.

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