IND vs SA 2nd Test: Markram Rickelton Stand Puts South Africa on Top Before Bumrah Strikes Before Tea

Africa, Nov 22 : South Africa’s solid start on Day 1 of the IND vs SA 2nd Test was halted just before tea as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Aiden Markram, breaking an 82 run opening partnership at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday.

At the tea break, the Proteas were 82/1, with Ryan Rickelton unbeaten on 35.

Opting to bat first, South Africa benefitted from early extras by Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj but otherwise faced disciplined bowling during the opening 10 overs, reaching 26/0 with only two boundaries from Markram. Rickelton then shifted momentum with back to back fours off Siraj to take SA to 34/0 at the end of the first hour.

Post drinks, the scoring rate improved as Rickelton found boundaries against Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar, taking SA past 50 in the 17th over. Markram then targeted Nitish with two stylish fours, and both batters rotated strike well against spin, pushing South Africa comfortably into the 70s with no wickets lost.

India struggled for breakthroughs until Bumrah delivered a trademark nip-backer that rattled Markram’s middle stump. The opener departed for a well-made 38 off 81 balls (5 fours) with SA at 82/1 in 26.5 overs—prompting the tea interval.

Earlier, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat in the series-deciding Test. India, trailing 0-1, must win to avoid a second straight home series defeat. The match also marks Guwahati’s first-ever Test, adding significance to the contest.

Playing XIs

India: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj.