Life has indeed come a full circle for Senuran Muthusamy.

In 2019, during a forgettable debut series in India when he got just two wickets in two Tests, the South African all-rounder of Indian descent reckoned that his career was as good as over and he will never ever play a game in this country.

Cut to 2025, Muthusamy has cracked the code of the sub-continent after an impactful performance in Pakistan, where he scalped 11 wickets in the first Test and 89 not out in second Test.

Now he is cherishing the best day of his career with a game-changing 109 against India while coming in at a not-so-comfortable 201 for five.

“My journey’s been unique. Got a taste of international cricket in 2019 in India, debuted here, went back into the wilderness a little bit. Like you say, cricket is such a journey that you just try to take it one day at a time. You try not to think too far ahead” he said.

“But there were times, especially after 2019, where I wasn’t sure if I’d ever play Test cricket again and certainly not in India after we lost that series,” Muthusamy said, making no bones about where he stood in his career six years back.

Also read | India vs South Africa second Test: Awesome experience, says Muthusamy

“So just really grateful for the support that I’ve got back home, for the people that are really close with me, the coaches, the support staff here, the players, my family back home, my friends. They’ve been incredible,” he added.

Muthusamy has also worked with sports scientist Cheryl Calder and that has also helped in enhancing his performance. After his debut series in 2019, he had to wait for another four years to play his third Test and all this time he has gone through the hard grind of domestic cricket.

“Yeah, it’s fantastic, especially having come through to India in 2019 and we lost the series pretty badly. So, yeah, I’ve gone back to domestic cricket and I’ve managed to work my way back into the national set-up and I’m just really grateful for the opportunity to be in India and to put in a performance like that in the first innings is an awesome experience.,” he added.

His ancestors hail from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and he has never been there although his mother and aunts have been to their native town.

“Of course, I’m of Indian heritage, but that was quite a few generations ago. So my roots are in the south, in Tamil Nadu, my mum and my aunt have been to visit our extended family on that end of India, I haven’t been there as yet,” he said.

Muthusamy views himself as an all-rounder, who would like to add value to the team in any department that he plays.

Senuran Muthusamy showed his batting prowess while Kyle Verreynne was defiant in his approach as South Africa frustrated Indian bowling unit to reach 316 for six at tea on day two of the second Test in Guwahati on Sunday (November 23, 2025).

Left-hander Muthusamy (56 batting off 131 balls) looked solid in defense en route his third Test fifty and also added unbroken 70 runs for the seventh wicket with keeper-batter Verreynne (38 batting, 94 balls), who played some edgy shots but then settled down nicely over the course of time.

The Proteas took heavy roller in the morning which indicates that initially it would play well and then quickly start crumbling by the start of the third day.

The Barsapara track became a quintessential 22 yards from the throwback era where it flattened out considerably making India’s two finger spinners Washington Sundar (0/45 in 21 overs) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/47 in 18 overs) look pedestrian through the second morning.

What became a problem for the finger spinners was lack of zip off the surface making it comfortable for the batters.

Muthusamy defended well on the front-foot and also played some flowing drives.

It is not known whether Indian team management and their data analyst had done any homework on Muthusamy, who as recently as second Test in the preceding series against Pakistan scored 89 not out in a winning cause and enjoys an average of 46 plus in the traditional format.

He did survive by going for DRS when he was adjudged leg before off Jadeja’s bowling as the TV replays showed that the ball had touched the gloves.

The best chance for India after Verreynne and Muthusamy cautiously saw out Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj’s first spell was Kuldeep Yadav’s variations on a slow and unresponsive deck.

But unlike first day, Kuldeep wasn’t getting the drift in his first spell of five overs and Pant replaced him with Washington, who was rendered ineffective from the start.

Scoreboard

South Africa 1st innings: Aiden Markram b Bumrah 38 Ryan Rickelton c Pant b Kuldeep 35 Tristan Stubbs c Rahul b Kuldeep 49 Temba Bavuma c Jaiswal b Jadeja 41 Tony de Zorzi c Pant b Siraj 28 Wiaan Mulder c Jaiswal b Kuldeep 13 Senuran Muthusamy not out 50 Kyle Verreynne not out 38 Extras: 18 (b-8, lb-7, nb-3)

Total: 316/6 in 111 overs

Fall of wickets: 1-82, 2-82, 3-166, 4-187, 5-201, 6-246

Indian bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 22-9-43-1, Mohammed Siraj 23-4-73-1, Nitish Kumar Reddy 4-0-21-0, Washington Sundar 21-4-45-0, Kuldeep Yadav 23-4-72-3, Ravindra Jadeja 18-2-47-1.