IND vs SA | Muthusamy's maiden ton and Jansen's onslaught take Proteas to commanding total of 489 on Day 2

Yesterday at 4:06 PM

South Africa dominated proceedings in the second Test against India in Guwahati on Sunday as a brilliant rearguard display helped them post 489 in the first innings. Senuran Muthusamy scored a maiden Test ton and Marco Jansen an explosive 93, before the hosts finished the day on nine without loss.

Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen shared a rapid 97-run eighth wicket stand to help South Africa post 489 in the first innings of the second Test against India in Guwahati

Brief score: IND 9/0 [Jaiswal 7*, Rahul 2*; Mulder 0/0] trail SA 489 [Muthusamy 109, Jansen 93; Kuldeep 4/115] by 483 runs at Stumps on Day 2

Resuming from an overnight score of 247/6, India began strong on Day 2 with four maidens across the first five overs as Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah made the new ball talk. However, Senuran Muthusamy and Kyle Verreyne stood firm on their ground and clawed together 28 runs across the first hour without much ado. The former built upon his previous inning's work with complete control to bring up his fifty shortly after their partnership ticked past the same mark, even as Rishabh Pant rotated through his spin options. The closest the Men in Blue came to a breakthrough was when Muthusamy missed a sweep and was pinned on the pads by Ravindra Jadeja, only for a review to reveal the faintest of murmurs when the ball passed the batter's gloves whch was deemed enough to rule him not out. Next best was when an edge off Bumrah fell short of KL Rahul at slips as an uneventful session petered out without the loss of a wicket, the Proteas adding just 69 runs in nearly 30 overs to take the score to 316/6 at Tea.

More of the same followed upon resumption and the partnership cruised close to a century, with Verreyne eyeing a half-century of his own. He was just five runs away from the mark when the pressure finally caught up to him as he danced down the track against Ravindra Jadeja, who cleverly shot it wide for Rishbah Pant to collect and execute a routine stumping and break te 88-run marathon stand. The arrival of Marco Jansen theraefter completely changed the complexion of the game as unlike his predecessors, the all-rounder came out with the intent of playing. First signs of it became evident when he smashed Jadeja for a no-look six on just his 10th ball of the innings, before taking another boundary and a maximum in the spinner's next two overs. Muthusamy also joined in on the party with a gorgeous slog sweep for six against Kuldeep Yadav as the visitors strung together a brilliant phase where they scored boundaries in nine out of 10 overs to take the score past 400, including a five-over Kuldeep spell worth 38 runs that took Muthusamy to 99. A couple off Siraj was enough for him to bring up a maiden Test hundred, accompanied with the widest of grins, just an over before Jansen brought up a near run-a-ball half-century. The duo took South Africa through to Lunch at 428/7, scoring their runs at nearly four and a half in the session.

The 40-minute cooling period did India good as Siraj struck with his first ball after Lunch to finally dispatch Muthusamy for 109, but it only forced Jansen to switch into yet another gear. Jadeja was again his first victim as the giant struck two monster sixes followed by taking Siraj for 12 in an over, taking his six tally to seven. Bumrah closed in the walls on him further by sounding Simon Harmer the death rattle with an absolute jaffa but with Jansen nearing a ton, the aggressive streak gave way to a more tempered approach with a boundary-laden field also taking a part. Nevertheless, Keshav Maharaj barely looked the part at eleven as he confidently strung along to aid Jansen, even stepping down to belt Kuldeep for four down the ground at one point. Yet, in a tragic moment for Jansen, the batter chopped on a Kuldeep delivery to be stranded seven short of a first Test ton as the Proteas bowled out for 489.

With light fading and new ball in hand, South Africa had the chance to dent Indian hopes further late on Day 2 but Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul managed to survive a difficult six overs before the umpires decided it was time to call for Stumps.

Peach delivery!

That is why he is the best in the world. 🌍

A peach of a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah that makes even the best batters look ordinary.

The seam, the pace, the angle... PERFECTION.
— Rana Ahmed (@RanaAhmad056)

Kuldeep strikes!

Kuldeep-ன் கலக்கல்! 🤩

📺 தொடர்ந்து காணுங்கள் | | 2nd Test, Day 02 | JioHotstar & Star Sports 2 தமிழில்
— Star Sports Tamil (@StarSportsTamil)

Fire!

Absolute fire! Bumrah's got that x-factor, making batsmen look ordinary. 🔥
— Adarsh (@Adarshkumar_05)

Opportunity!

Another good opportunity for Yashasvi Jaiswal to get a century here. These are the opportunities he need to grab if he wants to be on the 10k Test runs list at the end of this career.
— Dave (@AFC_Dev17)

what a ball!

delivery from Bumrah 🫡 | |
— Sþårrow Λ†uL (@Pinned000)

Unlucky!

ಶತಕದ ಸನಿಹದಲ್ಲಿ Marco Jansen ಗೆ ನಿರಾಸೆ! ಆದರೆ Proteas 489 ರನ್‌ಗಳಿಗೆ ಇನ್ನಿಂಗ್ಸ್ ಮುಗಿಸಿದೆ. ಈಗ Team India ಬ್ಯಾಟಿಂಗ್ ಅಬ್ಬರ ನೋಡುವ ಸಮಯ! 💥

📺 ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿ | 👉 2nd Test | DAY 2 | LIVE NOW | ನಿಮ್ಮ Star Sports 2 ಕನ್ನಡ & JioHotstar ನಲ್ಲಿ.
— Star Sports Kannada (@StarSportsKan)

Yes!