Flop show by Indian spinners as Muthusamy, Jansen take charge for South Africa

South Africa seized control of the second Test against India at Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium on Sunday, posting a massive 489 in their first innings, as Indian finger spinners struggled in unresponsive conditions. Trailing 0-1 in the two-match series, India closed the day at 9 for no loss in 6.1 overs.

Senuran Muthusamy, who had recently starred against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, scored his maiden Test century, a gritty 109 off 206 balls. Marco Jansen played with brute power, scoring 93 off 91 balls, smashing seven sixes, the highest by an overseas batter on Indian soil, surpassing Viv Richards and Matthew Hayden.

South Africa’s lower order, from Nos 7 to 11, added 243 runs, turning the innings into a formidable one. Muthusamy and Kyle Verreynne shared an 88-run stand for the seventh wicket, and Muthusamy added another 97 with Jansen for the ninth wicket.

India’s bowling woes were evident as all five specialist bowlers delivered 25 or more overs, a rare occurrence. Rishabh Pant’s captaincy lacked a Plan B, and the pitch offered little assistance to the spinners, remaining true and firm throughout the day.

Finger spinners let India down, Ravindra Jadeja (2/94 in 28 overs) and Washington Sundar (0/58 in 26 overs) struggled to make any impact on a track that offered minimal turn or bounce. Both appeared unable to trouble South Africa’s batters, highlighting a persistent challenge for India: relying on spinners to extract turns on unhelpful tracks. Their heavy involvement in white-ball cricket seems to have dulled the subtle variations needed in Tests.

Jasprit Bumrah (2/75 in 32 overs) led the attack with some success, but the lack of support from the spinners left the bowling unit exposed. Once Muthusamy and Verreynne survived the opening session, Jansen dominated, repeatedly targeting Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav over long-on, and systematically breaking India’s confidence.

India will now look to their batters to take advantage of the batting-friendly conditions. Historically, pitches here start to crumble in the last two days, and if that happens, Jadeja may yet play a key role. Last time a team scored 450+ in India and lost was Chennai 2016, when Karun Nair’s triple century and Jadeja’s seven-wicket haul helped India overturn England’s 477-run first innings.