Guwahati, Nov 24 (NationPress) South Africa has solidified their dominance in the ongoing second Test match, leaving India in a precarious position at 102/4 after 36 overs at tea during the third day of play at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Starting from 9/0, India lost four wickets for just 93 runs over the span of 29.5 overs in this session. Although Yashasvi Jaiswal contributed with a score of 58 and formed a solid 65-run opening partnership with KL Rahul, India began to crumble in the latter part of the session.

As the session concluded, India faced a stunning collapse, losing three wickets for a mere seven runs in a rapid 20-ball period. The combination of a slow pitch, excessive turn, and poor shot selection left them in disarray.

Trailing by 387 runs, India will now look towards captain Rishabh Pant (six not out) and Ravindra Jadeja (zero not out) to stage a comeback and keep their hopes alive in this series.

In the morning, Rahul and Jaiswal began cautiously, effectively countering the spin threat. The pair managed four boundaries off the bowling of Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder before South Africa brought in their spinners.

As the spinners found some turn, Rahul began to come down the pitch, while Jaiswal targeted the sweep and slog-sweep shots, which earned him boundaries against Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer. However, just before the first drinks break, Rahul's struggle against the turning ball cost him dearly when he edged a slower delivery from Maharaj to first slip.

Stepping in at number three, B Sai Sudharsan looked fluent right away, hitting two cover drives for boundaries. Jaiswal continued to show aggression against spin, reaching his half-century, marking the first by an Indian player in this series.

However, his innings was cut short when a cheeky dab off Harmer saw the ball stop slightly, resulting in an edge caught by short third man. Sudharsan's attacking intent led to his dismissal as well, when a pull shot off Harmer was caught at mid-wicket after a juggling attempt.

India faced yet another setback at tea when Jurel, attempting a pull shot from well outside off-stump, fell for an eleven-ball duck, leaving South Africa firmly in control and India under rising pressure.

Brief Scores: South Africa 489 in 151.1 overs (Senuran Muthusamy 109; Kuldeep Yadav 4-115) leads India 102/4 in 36 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, KL Rahul 22) by 387 runs.