India Sink Again as Jansen Wrecks Batting; SA lead by 314

• By Thetripurapost Desk, Guwahati
• Nov 24, 2025
• 38

India’s woes in the South Africa Test series deepened as the team collapsed once again—this time against pace—on a batting-friendly surface in Guwahati. After being dismantled by spin in Kolkata, India succumbed to left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen, who produced a devastating spell to bowl India out for just 201 in their first innings.

Resuming the day at 9/0, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal offered early stability with a solid 50-run partnership. However, once Rahul fell to Keshav Maharaj for 22, the innings began to unravel. Jaiswal reached his half-century, but wickets tumbled quickly as Simon Harmer removed both Jaiswal and Sai Sudarshan in successive overs, leaving India struggling at 96/3.

The collapse accelerated when South African captain Temba Bavuma handed the ball back to Jansen. Using short-pitched bowling to perfection, Jansen ripped through the middle order, dismissing Rishabh Pant (7), Ravindra Jadeja (6), Nitish Kumar Reddy (10), and Dhruv Jurel—three of them caught fending at bouncers. India crumbled from 95/1 to 122/7, losing six wickets for just 27 runs.

Washington Sundar (48) and Kuldeep Yadav (19) offered resistance with a 72-run eighth-wicket stand, taking India past 200 before Jansen returned to finish the job. He claimed 6/48 to accompany his 93 with the bat, while Harmer took 3/61.

South Africa, having earned a massive 288-run lead in the first innings, chose not to enforce the follow-on. By stumps on Day 3, they reached 26/0, with Aiden Markram (12*) and Ryan Rickelton (13*) stretching their overall lead to 314. With two full days remaining, South Africa are strong favourites to claim the series, leading 1-0 and needing only a draw to clinch it.

This marks India’s second batting failure of the series after being dismissed for 93 against spin in Kolkata. With both spin and pace now troubling the team, India faces a steep challenge to stay alive in the contest.