Senuran Muthusamy has had an interesting — for want of a better word — career. His debut in India six years back was underwhelming as he finished with two for 190 from 45.3 overs in two Tests, after which he was superfluous to South Africa’s fortunes for three and a half years.
Years of struggle
Since his comeback in February 2023, the left-arm-spinning all-rounder has figured in only six further Tests, four of them in the subcontinent. Despite taking 11 wickets in a losing cause against Pakistan in Lahore last month and backing it up with a match-turning unbeaten 89 in the next in Islamabad, he was benched for the first Test in Kolkata last week.
Brought in for the second Test at the ACA Stadium, the 31-year-old responded with a polished, unhurried maiden hundred at the ACA Stadium on Sunday. Having arrived on the first day with the game in the balance at 201 for five, Muthusamy oversaw a fabulous second-half display that powered the visitors to an imposing 489 when struck the final blow by bowling Marco Jansen off the inside-edge.
Jansen was the second, more aggressive, batting hero of the second day for the Proteas, who resumed on 247 for six, saw off the first session without any damage through Muthusamy and Kyle Verreynne, and then switched gears once Jansen walked out shortly after the tea interval.
Muthusamy and Verreynne had steadied the ship with a sixth-wicket stand of 88, but it was the Muthusamy-Jansen alliance for the ninth wicket of 97 (107 balls) that truly hurt the hosts, who must win this encounter if they are to square the series. Muthusamy continued to bat like a monk while Jansen was infinitely more adventurous, using his height (six feet eight inches) to excellent advantage. He rained seven massive sixes — no visiting batter has scored more than a half-dozen sixes in an innings in India — with four coming off Ravindra Jadeja alone as the scoreboard rattled along at a frenetic pace until, with his century imminent, he slowed down inexplicably.
Bad light stops play
His tentativeness brought about his downfall as he dragged an innocuous Kuldeep ball on to his sticks. By contrast, there was nothing tentative about Muthusamy during his 311-minute vigil. Jansen’s was a timely dismissal in that it gave South Africa maybe a half-hour to have a crack at and KL Rahul in fading light. To their credit, the openers ground it out despite having spent more than 150 overs on the park, taking the score to nine when bad light ended the entertainment.
The most runs India have conceded in the first innings of a home victory is 478 (vs Australia in Bengaluru 2010). Now still trailing by 480, they have their work cut out. Massively so.
1
No. of times India have won after conceding 489 or more runs in the first innings of a Test
Brief scores
South Africa 489 all out (S Muthusamy 109, M Jansen 93, T Stubbs 49, K Verreynne 45, T Bavuma 41; K Yadav 4-115, J Bumrah 2-75, R Jadeja 2-94, M Siraj 2-106) vs India 9-0