Fiery Jansen blows away Indian batting line-up as Proteas tighten grip on second Test

Kuldeep Yadav, on day two, called the pitch at the ACA stadium a “road” after South Africa amassed 489. A day later, though, India’s batters made the 22-yard strip look far more menacing than it actually was.

A 45-minute passage of play on either side of the tea interval on the morning of day three on Monday pushed India into an abyss as South Africa tightened its vice-like grip on the second and final Test.

For the second day in succession, it was Marco Jansen who starred for the visitors, scalping six wickets (19.5-5-48-6) to help bowl out India for 201.

Despite a healthy 288-run lead, Temba Bavuma did not enforce the follow-on. South Africa went to stumps on 26 for no loss in its second essay and is ahead by 314.

Double act

Jansen, whose quickfire 93 in the first innings swelled the Proteas’ total, made full use of his height to bounce out the Indian batters.

Resuming at nine for no loss, the home team needed to mix caution and aggression to secure a positive outcome in this fixture and level the series. Instead, India imploded, losing six wickets for 27 runs in 11.1 overs, going from 95 for one to 122 for seven.

The hosts, though, started positively with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K.L. Rahul adding 65 in quick time. Jaiswal wasted no time in attacking the spinners and brought out the sweep, collecting two boundaries and a six en route his half-century.

Just as India was motoring along at nearly four an over, Keshav Maharaj got one to spin and jump to hit the shoulder of Rahul’s bat, with Aiden Markram grabbing an easy one at slip — the first of his five catches.

The South African tweakers were slower through the air and found more purchase than their Indian counterparts, with the turn and bounce keeping the batters guessing.

Around 20 minutes before tea, Simon Harmer got into action. Jaiswal, batting well on 58, was surprised by a delivery from the off-spinner that bounced a tad more and found the leading edge. Jansen completed a good catch diving forward.

B. Sai Sudharsan, back at No. 3, failed to capitalise on the opportunity, pulling a long-hop from Harmer to short-midwicket.

In the last over before the break, Dhruv Jurel inexplicably tried to pull Jansen from outside off-stump and was snapped up at mid-on.

Having lost three wickets in 20 balls, India needed to be a bit watchful, but skipper Rishabh Pant charged down to Jansen and nicked it behind while attempting a wild heave.

The left-arm pacer then removed Nitish Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja in consecutive overs, both caught in the cordon trying to fend well-directed short-pitched deliveries.

By the time the lanky left-armer finished his second spell (8-1-18-4), India was in dire straits. From there, Washington Sundar (48) and Kuldeep Yadav forged a 72-run alliance for the eighth wicket. Washington, pushed down to No. 8 from No. 3, gave a good account of his strong technique yet again, handling the spinners with aplomb using his long reach. Kuldeep, too, looked assured, and the duo showed great application while stitching a vital partnership.

But in the final session, Jansen closed out the innings after taking the second new ball and finished with a well-deserved five-for, the fourth of his career.