IND vs SA, 2nd Test: 5 Talking Points from India’s Outing against South Africa on Day 2 in Guwahati

Day 2 of the second Test between India and South Africa was completely dominated by the Proteas as Senurun Muthusamy (109), Kyle Verreynne (45), and Marco Jansen (93) frustrated the Indian bowlers at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday, November 23.

After bundling out South Africa for 489 in the first innings, India posted a total of 9/0, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul batting on 7 and 2, respectively, and trailing by 480 runs. The hosts have a monumental deficit to overcome in their first innings heading into Day 3 of the Guwahati Test, with their openers tasked with blunting South Africa’s attack early and laying a foundation to avoid a massive first-innings lead.

On that note, let’s take a look at key takeaways from India’s outing on Day 2 of the Guwahati Test.

India’s bowling attack was under constant pressure across two sessions of the day’s play as South Africa steadily built the first innings total. After dominating Day 1 of the Guwahati Test, Indian bowlers struggled to maintain control, with Senuran Muthusamy, Kyle Verreynne, and Marco Jansen forging crucial partnerships, rotating the strike efficiently, and punishing any loose deliveries, leaving India unable to break through and allow South Africa to move past the 400-run mark.

Across two sessions, India managed to take only one wicket, that of Kyle Verreynne, as Muthusamy and Jansen frustrated the bowlers with their steady partnership, denying India any momentum and allowing South Africa to consolidate their first-innings dominance.

As India struggled to contain South Africa’s flow of runs, stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant received two slow-over warnings from the on-field umpires. As per the ICC stop clock rule, the fielding side will have to start their next over within 60 seconds to avoid penalties. The bowling side will receive two warnings from the on-field umpires if the over does not start in the allotted time. On the third offence, the batting side is awarded a five-run penalty,

After receiving two warnings for slow-over, India were on the verge of conceding a five-run penalty, adding mounting pressure on Rishabh Pant and his bowlers as they struggled to contain South Africa’s first innings dominance.

Team India’s fielding placements have come under the spotlight as the side appeared overly defensive with too many fielders near the boundary line. Former India spin bowling legend Anil Kumble called Rishabh Pant’s fielding placements ‘too passive’, allowing South Africa batters, especially Serun Muthusamy, Kyle Verreynne, and Marco Jansen, to rotate the strike freely and accumulate runs without any significant pressure.

Defensive fielding setup proved costly for Team India as the bowlers were unable to create pressure through attacking lines or force risky shots. After struggling in the first two sessions of the day, India’s bowlers made a comeback in the final session as Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah took a wicket each to wrap up South Africa’s innings before the stumps.

India’s key pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, bowled heavy spells as the hosts were struggling to contain South Africa batters across three sessions of the day’s play. Bumrah and Siraj bowled 62 overs and picked four wickets together, but their long spells raised concerns about fatigue and over-reliance on the frontline pacers.

With Bumrah having back issues in the past and Siraj carrying a heavy workload, India faced the risk of reduced effectiveness from their frontline pacers. Though Kuldeep Yadav picked four wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja picked a couple of scalps, India’s bowling highlighted reliance on a few key bowlers, underlining the need for greater contributions to sustain pressure on South Africa.

After Indian bowlers toiled hard throughout the day to bundle out South Africa for 489 in the final session, batters have a massive challenge ahead as they begin their first innings under pressure, needing to score big to avoid conceding a huge lead and keeping India’s hopes alive in the second Test. After losing the first Test in Kolkata, the hosts have no other option but to win to series defeat or a whitewash at the hands of South Africa.

As India assume their first innings batting after two days of intense pressure, they will need to consolidate their top order and secure crucial contributions from the middle-order batters to build a competitive total, avoid a large deficit, and put themselves back into contention in the second Test.