IND vs SA 2025-26, 2nd Test, Day 4 Highlights: India slump to 27-2 while chasing a massive 549, facing near-impossible odds.
Brief Scores: IND 27/2 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 13, Simon Harmer 1/1) & 201 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Marco Jansen 6/48, Simon Harmer 3/64) trail SA 489 (Senuran Muthusamy 109, Marco Jansen 93, Kuldeep Yadav 4/115) & 260/5 dec (Tristan Stubbs 94, Ravindra Jadeja 4/62) by 522 runs at stumps on Day 4.
On a surface where South Africa put 489 runs in the first couple of days, Team India collapsed to 201 on the third day of the second Test in Guwahati. Marco Jansen’s 6/48 earned a valuable 288-run lead for the visitors as they looked to post a mountain target for the Blue Brigade. The Rishabh Pant-led side looked a bit tired mentally by the end of the third day’s play.
The fourth day’s surface still looked good for batting and can help the batters in the middle. There was little roughness in the off-stump line, which the spinners could use later in the day. Jansen got so much bounce from the short length of the track, and that trend of univariable bounce could continue in the last couple of days.
Talking point: India’s bowlers continue to struggle to get wickets
Apart from Ravindra Jadeja, India’s bowlers continued to struggle to pick wickets on the fourth day. Kuldeep Yadav was smashed for 48 runs in 12 overs while the tired pacers- Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj- had combined figures of 0/41. Even Washington Sundar collected only one wicket in 22 overs.
Read More: IND vs SA 2025-26, 2nd Test, Day 3: Jansen’s 6-48 pushes India close to another home series loss
South Africa stretch lead to 395 runs at tea amidst India spinners’ success
India came up with different but steady plans against both the Proteas openers. Pant introduced spin quite early into the attack as Jadeja broke the opening stand with the wicket of Ryan Rickelton. The southpaw danced down the track and miscued the leading edge to cover. A few overs later, Jadeja’s sharp spin breached the forward defense of Aiden Markram to break the middle stump.
Washington Sundar’s tossed-up delivery with extra bounce touched the gloves of Temba Bavuma. The South Africa captain was in no control of the shot as it flew straight into the hands of the leg slip. Tony de Zorzi came with intent in the middle as the visitors stretched their lead to 395 runs.
Tristan Stubbs’ 60* shoulders South Africa’s lead to 508 runs at lunch
It was an unnatural batting performance from Tristan Stubbs and de Zorzi, who didn’t show much intent with the bat. A few boundaries came here and there from the right-left duo as India were happy to keep bowling on the fourth afternoon session. Jadeja finally broke the 101-run fourth-wicket stand after trapping de Zorzi leg before the stumps.
Meanwhile, Stubbs also notched up his half-century with a single before South Africa stretched their lead to 508 by the end of the session. The expectation was to see a declaration after Stubbs’ milestone. But there was no movement from the visiting dressing room.
Read More: IND vs SA 2025-26, 2nd Test, Day 2: Muthusamy 109, Jansen 93 propels SA to 489; India 9-0 at stumps
India lost both openers after SA set 549-run target
Post the lunch break, Stubbs shifted gears to the T20 mode and smashed Nitish Kumar Reddy for two consecutive boundaries. After nailing a six against Jadeja, he lost his off-stump on 94 runs before the Proteas declared their innings on 260. They set a target of 549 runs for the Blue Brigade.
India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early in the fourth innings. The southpaw’s lazy cut shot found the outside edge into the hands of the wicket-keeper as Jansen drew first blood. Simon Harmer sent back KL Rahul as the ball went through the defense of Rahul’s lazy drive. India finished the day with 27/2 and would have around 90 overs to survive on the fifth day,
What to expect on Day 5
With South Africa setting a target of nearly 550 runs, they have already ruled out the chance of their defeat from hereon. But their decision to push the declaration to the third session has now given India a chance to draw the contest. They need to play out around 85 overs before the bad light makes a potential impact in the final session.
Read More: Factors that have caused decline in India’s batting in home Tests
Statistical highlights from IND vs SA, 2nd Test, Day 4, Guwahati
- Ravindra Jadeja has dismissed Aiden Markram three times in Tests. The South Africa batter has an average of 8.33 against the left-arm India spinner.
- Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton record 216 runs in the opening partnership of the series. This is the third most runs in the opening stand for South Africa in a Test series in India. Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith lead the chart with 350 runs in 2007/08.
- Ravindra Jadeja becomes the second left-arm spinner after England’s Colin Blythe to pick 50 Test wickets against South Africa. The India spinner currently has 52 wickets in 19 innings against the Proteas.
- Tony de Zorzi’s dismissal of Ravindra Jadeja was his 12th Test dismissal against left-arm orthodox spinners. The southpaw has an average of 22.6 against this type of bowler.
- The target of 549 runs set by SA for India is the highest ever for the latter at home. The previous highest was 543 set by Australia in Nagpur 2004.
- Ravindra Jadeja (46) is now the joint leading wicket-taker, along with Ravichandran Ashwin, for India against South Africa in home Tests.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for the ninth time against left-arm pace.
Read More: Reasons why India batters find themselves vulnerable against spin in the current era
