Guwahati: South Africa strengthened their position in the second Test against India after finishing Day 3 at 26 for no loss in their second innings, stretching their overall lead to 314 runs on Monday. Openers Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram remained unbeaten on 13 and 12 respectively when stumps were drawn.
The Proteas returned to bat late in the final session, facing eight overs after bowling India out for 201 in 83.5 overs. Earlier, South Africa’s first-innings total of 489 had given them a massive 288-run advantage.
India’s batting collapsed despite a bright start at 9 for no loss in the morning. Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored with 58 off 97 balls, while Washington Sundar fought hard for his 48 off 92. The pair of Washington and Kuldeep Yadav, who scored a gritty 19 off 134 deliveries, provided brief resistance with a 72-run stand for the eighth wicket, but the hosts could not avoid a follow-on threat.
South Africa’s bowlers dominated throughout the day, with Marco Jansen delivering a brilliant spell of 6 for 48. Simon Harmer supported him well, finishing with 3 for 64. India slid to 174 for 7 by lunch and lost their remaining wickets quickly once the visitors took the new ball late in the final session.
KL Rahul (22), Sai Sudharsan (15), Dhruv Jurel (0), Rishabh Pant (7), Ravindra Jadeja (6), and Nitish Kumar Reddy (10) failed to make notable contributions.
South Africa, who won the first Test by 30 runs in Kolkata, now hold a firm upper hand with two full days left to play.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 1st Innings: 489
South Africa 2nd Innings: 26/0 in 8 overs (Ryan Rickelton 13*, Aiden Markram 12*)
India 1st Innings: 201 all out in 83.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Washington Sundar 48; Marco Jansen 6/48, Simon Harmer 3/64)
