Kolkata, Nov 15 (NationPress) Ravindra Jadeja wove a spell around the South African batting order, claiming four wickets while bowling from the Pavilion End. By the end of Day Two's play in the first Test at Eden Gardens, the visitors found themselves at 93/7 in 35 overs. Although they maintain a lead of 63 runs, Jadeja's impressive figures of 4-29 keep the match finely balanced, especially after a remarkable 16 wickets fell on the second day.

Following India's dismissal for 189, with a narrow 30-run lead, South Africa seemed to be leveling the playing field, particularly with Shubman Gill sidelined due to a neck spasm after scoring four runs. However, their batting crumbled under the strain of exceptional spin bowling and poor shot choices, handing India a crucial advantage at day’s end.

The tricky two-paced pitch continued to pose challenges, with inconsistent bounce and sharp turn making batting increasingly formidable. While a target of 125 runs might seem steep, it necessitates South Africa to nearly double their current lead, a daunting task on this surface.

In the morning session, off-spinner Simon Harmer also claimed four wickets as India was bowled out for 189, yet the hosts managed a slender 30-run lead. Similar to South Africa’s first innings on day one, India’s batting was characterized by modest contributions and a lack of significant partnerships, with the highest being a 57-run stand between KL Rahul and Washington Sundar.

Rahul was the only Indian batter to surpass the 30-run mark, as the innings collapsed quickly – after reaching 153/4, the last five wickets fell for just 36 runs. Harmer excelled with figures of 4-30, while Marco Jansen contributed with 3-35.

During the morning, Rahul and Sundar navigated the challenging conditions adeptly. Rahul hit boundaries off Maharaj and Jansen, becoming the 18th Indian batter to reach 4,000 Test runs. Sundar appeared composed, clipping Jansen for four, then sweeping and lofting Maharaj for four and six respectively.

South Africa’s strategy to introduce Harmer paid off when he produced sharp turn to dismiss Sundar, whose outside edge was caught at first slip. Shubman Gill displayed elegance before retiring hurt due to a neck spasm. Despite this, Rahul adopted an aggressive approach, dancing down the pitch to launch a six off Maharaj.

Rishabh Pant, back in international cricket after recovering from a fractured foot, was dropped by Aiden Markram at slip and managed a boundary off Harmer. On the very next ball, he cleared long-off for another six.

Although Maharaj caught Rahul at first slip for 39, Pant continued his onslaught, surpassing Virender Sehwag to hold the record for the most sixes by an Indian batter in Test cricket.

Just before lunch, Pant attempted to pull off Corbin Bosch’s rising delivery, only to be caught by the keeper, with Jurel and Jadeja seeing off the remaining deliveries until the break.

The second session began with Jurel displaying exquisite timing against Bosch for boundaries, while Jadeja executed a beautiful drive past cover for another four. Harmer struck again, dismissing Jurel for a simple caught and bowled chance.

After India secured the lead, Harmer trapped Jadeja lbw, with the all-rounder also wasting a review. One wicket led to another as Kuldeep Yadav nicked a delivery down leg to keeper Kyle Verreynne, while Jansen later rattled Mohammed Siraj’s off-stump.

Harmer completed his four-wicket haul by having Axar Patel caught at backward point, and with Gill not emerging to bat, India’s innings ended just one run shy of 190. South Africa’s second innings commenced strongly, with Jasprit Bumrah troubling Rickleton with pace and bounce, landing a couple of hits on his body, yet the batter managed two boundaries.

Axar, taking the new ball ahead of Siraj, bowled a disciplined line to keep Rickleton and Aiden Markram in check. Kuldeep broke through just before tea, trapping Rickleton lbw for 11.

The final session began with Markram attempting a sweep off Jadeja, resulting in a thick top edge caught by Dhruv Jurel at short leg. Jadeja later got turn on Wiaan Mulder’s outside edge, leading to a catch by keeper-cum-stand-in captain Pant.

Two balls later, Tony de Zorzi was dismissed by Jadeja’s delivery that grazed his glove, hit his pad, and was caught by Jurel at short leg. Despite Temba Bavuma’s boundaries, South Africa continued to lose wickets – Jadeja sent Tristan Stubbs’ outside edge crashing into off-stump, while Verreynne’s slog-sweep resulted in a middle-stump rattling from Axar.

Despite Bavuma remaining unbeaten on 29, India managed another breakthrough before stumps when Kuldeep found an edge on Marco Jansen’s attempted slog sweep, with KL Rahul holding on after an initial fumble. As day three potentially becomes the last day of this unpredictable match, both India and South Africa still have everything to play for.

Brief scores:

South Africa 159 and 93/7 in 35 overs (Temba Bavuma 29 not out, Marco Jansen 13; Ravindra Jadeja 4-29, Kuldeep Yadav 2-12) lead India 189 all out in 62.2 overs (KL Rahul 39, Washington Sundar 29; Simon Harmer 4-30, Marco Jansen 3-35) by 63 runs