IND vs SA, 1st Test: Royal effort by Jadeja, spinners help India claw back on Day 2

For the second day running, the Eden Gardens pitch continued to mystify batters, indiscriminately, in the opening Test between India and South Africa.

Despite going through nearly three innings’ worth of batting, not a single player from either side has crossed 40 in a go. 

But as the dust settled on Saturday, it was the home team that pulled ahead in the game after its spinners made up for a sub-par batting effort, which saw India post just 189 in the first innings.

Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav shared the seven South African wickets to fall in the second essay, as the away team ended the second day just 63 runs ahead.

The Proteas batters didn’t help their cause with some indecisive footwork and ill-advised shot choices. But, triggering all that was a relentless Indian spin trio, led by Jadeja, who ended with a four-wicket haul.

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The left-arm spinner’s unerring accuracy married well with the Eden pitch’s sputtering bounce, prompting opposition batters to miscue in succession.

Aiden Markram could only manage a hurried prod that held up off the surface and popped to short leg, while both Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi had their edges discovered by Jadeja’s extra bounce.

The cherry on the top was the Tristan Stubbs dismissal. Jadeja floated in one from wide of the crease, zoning in on the middle stump, before the ball crackled away from the batter to flick the off bail. Stubbs, justifiably, could only look around in astonishment before walking back.

If not for an obdurate knock from skipper Temba Bavuma, South Africa could have tumbled even further down in the game, which in all likelihood will finish on Sunday.

Earlier, much like their South African counterparts, before and after them, the Indian batters struggled to come to terms with the surface’s unpredictable nature.

The Indian batters tried a myriad of ways to gain a foothold on this quicksand of a pitch. Overnight batters KL Rahul and Washington Sundar blocked and scraped, only to have their outside edges clipped.

Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel failed in their attempt to counter-punch. Jadeja appeared the most settled of the lot, only to be trumped by a slider from the impressive Simon Harmer.

To make it worse for India, skipper Shubman Gill had to retire out after injuring his neck, just three balls into his innings, while playing a sweep shot.

The unsettling effect of the pitch received a shade of wickedness when the ball rested in the hands of South African off-spinner Harmer.

The 36-year-old, with his fluid, high-arm bowling action, rarely strayed away from the stumps, bringing both the edges into play against the right-handers as well as the left-handers.

Harmer enticed the Indian batters to take their chance with the cut and the sweep by operating with a deep cover and deep fine leg for most of the day. With the zing he was able to harness, it was a trap destined to work.

The off-spinner claimed four wickets – three of them left-handers – as he helped South Africa prevent India from running away with the game.

Amidst the Harmer-induced devastation, the rest of the Proteas bowling unit had their moments as India settled for an underwhelming 30-run lead, much to the angst of a 40,000-strong weekend crowd at the Eden Gardens.

The sense of dismay, though, was quickly dispelled as the Indian spinners took charge of the game.

Published on Nov 15, 2025