India shook South Africa with late strikes, leaving the visitors 247-6 at stumps thanks to three wickets from spinner Kuldeep Yadav on the opening day of the second Test on Saturday.
In an attempt to win their first Test series in India in 25 years, South Africa chose to bat, and captain Temba Bavuma (41) and Tristan Stubbs (49) combined for 84 runs for the third wicket.
At Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the World Test champions won the first Test of the two-match series by 30 runs.
In the last session, Ravindra Jadeja sent Bavuma back, and then Kuldeep denied Stubbs his fifty to make a big impression on a sizable weekend crowd in Guwahati.
Wiaan Mulder was bowled for 13 by left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (3-48), and on 28, pace bowler Mohammed Siraj put an end to Tony de Zorzi’s resistance with the second new ball, severely damaging South Africa.
“Even day” was how Ten Doeschate described it.
“I think it was just good old-fashioned attritional Test cricket,” India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate told reporters.
“And I thought both sides accounted for themselves very well. I thought we stuck at it brilliantly. Just when the game was slipping away, a couple of times we managed to get a foothold back into the game.”
Wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne, on one, and left-hander Senuran Muthusamy, on 25, were batting when bad light forced stumps with just 81.5 overs, which is less than the typical 90 overs in a day.
After an opening partnership of 82, Ryan Rickelton (35) and Aiden Markram (38) lost to Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep either side of the first break.
Bavuma and Stubbs used their feet against the Indian spinners and gradually took the assault to the hosts with consistent boundaries.
In-form Bavuma, who got the lone fifty in the Kolkata opener, was dismissed by Jadeja using his left-arm spin after the batsman chipped to mid-off.
Stubbs struck Jadeja for a six in an attempt to maintain the pace, but Kuldeep had him caught at slip.
“I definitely think it’s better wicket for batting,” said Stubbs.
“I do think they bowl quite well, the seamers especially, just kept bowling straight lines. But all of us (batters) had opportunities, and if you look in it, no one kicked on, so we can take that on ourselves.”
At India’s newest Test venue, which drew an opening-day throng of over 15,000 spectators, play began 30 minutes ahead of schedule and the order of the session breaks was changed, meaning tea came before lunch.
Bumrah removed Markram on the stroke of tea, the batter dragging an inside edge onto his stumps. Right after the interval, Kuldeep struck with his third delivery, ending Rickelton’s 82-ball resistance.
After a cautious start, Markram hit a crunching cover drive for four off Bumrah on his 17th ball. Bumrah almost had his retribution with the next ball, but KL Rahul missed a second slip regulation opportunity. In dismay, the bowler covered his face.
South Africa, coming off a 1-1 draw in Pakistan, are seeking their first Test series win in India since Hansie Cronje’s side prevailed back in 2000.
