IND v SA: Senuran Muthusamy’s risk-free defiance doubles India’s jeopardy in Guwahati

Not many expected South Africa to drop spin-bowling all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy for the first Test against India in Kolkata.

After all, he was the player of the series in South Africa’s last Test outing, in Pakistan in October, claiming 11 wickets across both matches and scoring a match-winning 89 in the second.

But South Africa left Muthusamy on the bench, opting for pace all-rounder Corbin Bosch. In hindsight, it proved to be the right choice – Bosch chipped in with vital runs and wickets as South Africa rolled on to a 30-run win.

Heading into the second Test in Guwahati, not many expected South Africa to tinker with the winning combination.

ALSO READ – DAY 2 MATCH REPORT: Muthusamy, Jansen blunt hapless Indian bowling to put South Africa in front

But, again, South Africa went against the grain, swapping Bosch for Muthusamy. And once again, the visiting team had its decision validated.

On Sunday, Muthusamy held together a riveting rearguard act with his maiden Test hundred, as South Africa stormed into control of the second Test.

For the first three quarters of Muthusamy’s 206-ball stay in the middle, his batting was nondescript at best. There were no flashy drives to remember, no assertive cross-batted shots to recollect.

It was only when he skipped ever so stealthily from his overnight score of 25 to a fifty on Sunday morning that people took note of his swelling score.

A cursory glance at Muthusamy’s wagon wheel revealed the foundation of his sneaky progress – it was a death by a thousand dabs.

Of the 109 runs he scored in the innings, 34.8 per cent (38 runs) came on the leg side behind the square. None of his teammates had that big a share of runs from that region in the South African essay.

This arose from the comfort Muthusamy had in dealing with the Indian bowlers from the confines of the crease – 43 per cent of all deliveries he faced in the innings were off the backfoot, once again the highest among his teammates.

Time and again, Muthusamy would slyly slide across the stumps, before dabbing the ball from his pads for an easy single to deep fine leg.

This strategy was even more evident against the spinners. With the Guwahati pitch lacking the unexpected bounce and turn of its Kolkata counterpart, Muthusamy could afford to get inside the line against the tweakers before nudging them down the leg side.

With a risk-free run-scoring source in place, Muthusamy chiselled away in the morning session, scoring just two fours in that phase.

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Alongside him was an equally resolute Kyle Verreynne, with the two adding just 28 runs in the first hour of the day and 41 in the next, from a wicketless first session.

“Yeah, with Kyle this morning, it was against a new ball, and it’s obviously a nine o’clock start. So, we expected it to be really tough and for them to really test us, and they did. So, I thought he batted really, really well. That was an awesome partnership to really set up the innings,” said Muthusamy at the post-day press conference.

Verreynne and Muthusamy added 88 runs from 237 balls for the seventh wicket to get South Africa ahead in the game.

But what put the visiting side in absolute control of the game was the phase of play that unfolded after Verreynne’s dismissal in the second session, which brought Marco Jansen to the crease.

Jansen walked out with a clear intent to attack, going after anything in his long-reaching range. His power hitting was so fierce that he made his way through four bats in the course of a 91-ball knock, which ended seven runs short of a maiden hundred.

Muthusamy was all praise for Jansen’s incredible ball striking, hailing his knock as ‘sublime’.

“You guys know him really well from his T20 exploits, especially in India. He’s done a lot of really good work for us in red-ball cricket as well. He’s got fantastic levers. He’s a clean striker of the ball. He really showed his skills today. So, that was an awesome treat to watch from the other end.”

Jansen’s free-stroking exhibition also inspired Muthusamy as he unlocked his slogs and sweeps to stay afoot with his partner in their 97-run association, which affirmed their side’s dominance in the game.

ALSO READ | Kuldeep says Guwahati pitch ‘difficult for bowlers’ but remains optimistic about India’s chances

Unique Journey

Though he made his First-Class debut in 2013, Muthusamy, who traces his roots back to Tamil Nadu, had to bide his time for chances with the national team.

He finally made his Test debut in 2019, incidentally in India. But then came a spell in the wilderness, during which Muthusamy felt he would never be able to make a comeback.

But, over the last few years, Muthusamy has forced himself back into contention, particularly for Tests in the subcontinent, with his resilient streak with the bat backing his left-arm spin.

‘It’s tough being a spinning all-rounder in South Africa. Conditions are a lot different to the subcontinent. But when we get an opportunity to come to the subcontinent, we really look forward to it,” said Muthusamy.

After not being afforded one such rare ‘subcontinent’ opportunity in Kolkata, Muthusamy made sure to make it count in Guwahati, dabbing his way to a first-ever Test hundred.

Published on Nov 23, 2025