Jansen’s Heroics Dash India’s Series-Levelling Dreams in Batting Collapse

On Monday morning, a soft, early winter mist enveloped Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, setting the stage for a challenging day for India on the third day of their second Test against South Africa. Confronted with South Africa’s imposing first-innings score of 489, India faced the daunting task of batting for an extended period and scoring rapidly. Unfortunately, India faltered on both fronts, collapsing for just 201 runs, despite the batting-friendly conditions.

Marco Jansen had a stellar performance, building on his impressive 93-run innings on Day 2 with a six-wicket haul, thanks to his aggressive, short-pitched bowling. India’s only respite came from a gritty eighth-wicket stand between Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav, lasting nearly 35 overs.

Kuldeep stood out with a defensive resilience absent from his teammates. He faced 134 balls for his 19 runs, effectively handling both pace and spin. Despite this effort, South Africa capitalized on their lead, ultimately dismantling the Indian tail to secure a 288-run lead.

Choosing not to enforce the follow-on, the Proteas added 26 more runs to their advantage by the end of play through Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton.

On this difficult day for Indian cricket, poor shot selections marked their downfall, as said selections on a stable pitch resulted in the loss of numerous wickets. The decline began in the second hour, driven by South Africa’s relentless short-ball strategy spearheaded by Jansen.

Jansen’s powerful eight-over spell, flanking the Tea break, netted him four wickets, reducing India to 122 for seven. Key dismissals came from his short-pitched deliveries, catching Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Ravindra Jadeja off-guard. Rishabh Pant also fell during this period, caught behind after a misjudged slog.

Prior to Jansen’s onslaught, South African spinners Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj dismantled the Indian top-order. With the conditions yielding little for pacers initially, spin was introduced after just seven overs.

Their slower air-borne deliveries deceived the Indian batsmen, with Maharaj dismissing KL Rahul, who edged a catch to first slip.

Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal adopted a more aggressive approach. After taking on Jansen and Wiaan Mulder, he targeted the South African spinners with powerful sweeps for boundaries. His promising innings surpassed fifty—his first against South Africa in Tests—but was cut short by a well-gripped delivery from Harmer, caught at third man.

B Sai Sudharsan compounded India’s difficulties by gifting his wicket with a poorly judged flat-bat shot off Harmer, just before Jansen’s dismantling blitz, which ultimately dashed India’s hopes of leveling the series.

This article was published on November 24, 2025.