Proteas strike late double blow to sit on the brink of history in Guwahati

The Proteas head into the final day of the two-match series requiring eight wickets to close out a historic 2-0 sweep of India.

The visitors have not won a Test series in India since 2000 and are on the brink of ending a 25-year barren spell after the hosts were set a virtual impossible 549 runs to level the series.

India managed to limp to 27/2 when stumps were drawn - still 522 runs in arrears. 

Allrounder Marco Jansen is enjoying the Test of his life in Guwahati, following his 93 and six-wicket first innings haul, and he constructed the early breakthrough again.

The lanky left-armer has had the better of India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) throughout this series and accounted for him again when he found the bottom edge.

India’s chances of holding out suffered a further blow when Simon Harmer sent down a dream delivery that was tossed up outside the off stump before gripping and turning to crash into KL Rahul’s off stump.

Harmer had enjoyed a magnificent tour of India, picking up 12 wickets in the series - joint with Jansen - to play a pivotal role in the Proteas’ success.

Unlike the Proteas, India sent out a nightwatchman Kuldeep Yadav to partner Sai Sudharsan to navigate the choppy waters until the close.

The Proteas declaration had come much later than expected with the target moving way past the 500-run mark, but the visitors were giving Tristan Stubbs the opportunity to get to a third Test century.

After a rather sedate start, Stubbs’ innings gathered momentum the longer the day went on, and played some delightful orthodox and reverse sweep shots to counter India’s spinners.

Unfortunately, Stubbs (94 off 180 balls, 9x4, 1x6) could not get to the milestone after attempting another sweep shot off Ravindra Jadeja, but the left-hander had bowled it just a little bit quicker for the ball to crash into the stumps.

Stubbs, who is now the leading run-scorer in the series with 163 runs at an average of 53.3, was Jadeja’s fourth victim of the innings.

It brought to a close another outstanding 82-run partnership between Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder (35 not out), which followed on from the 101-run stand between Stubbs and Tony de Zorzi (49) earlier.

SCOREBOARD

2nd Test, Day 4, Stumps

South Africa: 489 all out & 260/5 (Stubbs 94, De Zorzi 49, Jadeja 4/62

India: 201 all out & 27/2 (Jaiswal 13, Jansen 1/14, Harmer 1/1)

India require 522 runs for victory