IND vs SA, 2nd Test: Guwahati offers rare balance as India-South Africa share opening day
After days of speculation, the pitch at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, for the second Test between India and South Africa, showed its hand on Saturday.
To the relief of batters, the conditions turned out to be docile in comparison to the fickle nature of the first Test’s Kolkata surface. But, run scoring was by no means an easy endeavour.
The first-ever day of Test cricket in North-East India, which ended with South Africa at 247 for six, saw bat and ball indulge in a balanced battle, a sight ever so rare in India’s home Tests in recent years.
Nearly all South African batters managed to get going. Almost all of them failed to push on any further, buckled down by a disciplined Indian bowling attack.
Kuldeep Yadav’s three-wicket haul was the cornerstone of the home team’s opening-day effort. The left-arm wrist spinner countered the lack of evident turn from the surface by relying on the subtle, yet disconcerting drift he generates.
As the day wound down at the scheduled close of play (4 PM), after 82 overs of action, it would have taken a brave man to suggest one team was truly ahead of the other.
Earlier, Temba Bavuma won the toss in front of largely empty stands as Guwahati offered a lukewarm reception to Test cricket. The crowd eventually grew in size, with official attendance marking it at over 15,000.
As expected, India brought back Sai Sudharsan to replace Shubman Gill, while Axar Patel made way for Nitish Kumar Reddy.
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South Africa, though, made a surprise move, as it added an extra spinner into the mix by bringing in Senuran Muthusamy for pace-bowling all-rounder Corbin Bosch.
The morning session saw openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton ride their luck to put South Africa in control with an 82-run stand, earned through grit as much as good fortune.
Indian pacers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, bowled with verve on a pitch that offered little for them. Edges flew everywhere but into the fielder’s hands. The one time it did – after Bumrah exacted Markram’s outside edge – KL Rahul fluffed the chance at second slip.
Markram soon gave vent to his strokeplay through cover drives, both off the front and back foot.
India eventually broke through on either side of Tea. First, Bumrah pushed his length up to pry open Markram’s bat-pad gap and disturb the stumps. Then, Kuldeep was rewarded for his frugality when he had Rickelton caught behind with one that drifted in before spinning away from the batter.
South Africa soon regained its foothold in the game through an 84-run third-wicket stand between Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs.
Bavuma batted with a touch of surety, an extension of his match-winning fifty from the Kolkata Test.
Meanwhile, Stubbs validated his team’s decision to promote him to No.3 as he used his nimble footwork to disrupt the Indian bowlers’ rhythm effectively.
But, both batters fell in their 40s – Bavuma miscuing a lofted shot against Ravindra Jadeja to mid off and Stubbs lured into an outside edge by Kuldeep – as India reined in the game.
The final stretch of the day, played almost entirely under floodlights on full blast, saw Tony de Zorzi and Senuran Muthusamy dig in for a 45-run sixth-wicket association.
South Africa’s hopes of entering Day 2 without incurring any further damage, though, were spoiled by Siraj, who had de Zorzi caught behind in the last over of the day.
For Rishabh Pant, his first day as Test captain proved to be a taxing one. The wicketkeeper, who wasn’t his usual chirpy self, constantly shuffled through his bowlers and switched their ends in an effort to force the issue.
Published on Nov 22, 2025
