South Africa is in the process of scripting a historic series win over India on their home turf. India is already trailing 1-0 in the series. The hosts began the day at 9/0 but collapsed to 122 for 7, effectively ending any hopes of a comeback. Marco Jansen (6/48) and Simon Harmer (3/64) wreaked havoc on the Indian batters in the first innings, bowling them out for 201. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav showed some resistance, with Kuldeep facing more deliveries than any other Indian batter. South Africa ended day three at 26/0, giving them a lead of 314 runs.
Early Resistance from Indian Batters
In the second hour, spinners Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj extracted some extra turn from the pitch. However, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav then batted together for nearly 35 overs without trouble. This showed that it was only early moisture helping the occasional turn.
Jansen’s Aggressive Spell
Jansen rose to the occasion with aggressive short-pitched bowling. He claimed his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests, building on his match-changing 93 in the first innings and a brilliant catch to dismiss India’s only half-centurion, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
His bouncers removed Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Jasprit Bumrah on an otherwise placid pitch. According to records, no bowler has taken so many wickets with bouncers in a single innings in India since ball-by-ball data became available.
On Ian Botham’s birthday, Jansen’s performance—a six-for and previous 93 runs—echoed one of the greatest all-round displays by a visiting player in India, Botham’s 1980 Jubilee Test century and 13 wickets.
Luck and Pressure Helped South Africa
Before Jansen’s decisive spell of 8-1-18-4, South Africa benefited from some luck and panic in India’s young batting line-up. Not since the 1960s have India’s No. 3 and No. 4 batsmen had just one hundred and fewer than 1,000 career runs between them.
Playing in the east, with 10 overs lost on the first two days due to early sunsets, India tried to accelerate but fell into mistakes under pressure.
Key Dismissals and Turning Points
India looked solid at 65 without loss, but a few balls that moved more than usual caused wickets. KL Rahul fell to a slower ball from Maharaj at 79 km/h. Jaiswal was caught by Jansen at backward point after misjudging a turning delivery.
B Sai Sudharsan, returning at No. 3, played elegantly but fell to a short ball from Harmer that Ryan Rickelton caught after a diving rebound.
From there, Jansen dominated completely. He bowled Jurel into submission with a bouncer just before tea. Post-tea, Rishabh Pant tried to counterattack but edged to the keeper. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja were beaten by Jansen’s bouncers, and Aiden Markram and diving fielders completed the dismissals.
Jansen’s skill was evident as he bowled bouncers even when the pitch lost pace and bounce. He forced India into defensive positions on a drying surface.
Tail-End Resistance
With Jansen finished and the moisture drying, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav batted more confidently. Washington nearly scored a half-century, but Harmer dismissed him just before the second new ball. Kuldeep played his longest Test innings, focusing on defense, but couldn’t stop Jansen’s earlier destructive spell.
Bumrah also fell to another sharp bouncer from Jansen, ending India’s innings decisively.