Kuldeep Yadav (3-48) was the star performer for India on the opening day of the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati on Saturday (November 22). Opting to bat, South Africa finished the day at 247/6 before bad light expectedly created a premature end to the action. All the batters got starts but none of them could even get to fifty as South Africa lost wickets at key intervals.
The celebration from Kuldeep Yadav. 😄pic.twitter.com/05CEHHsg8f
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 22, 2025
Yadav's scalps were all timely and significant. After Jasprit Bumrah had cleaned up Aiden Markram at the stroke of the tea break, Yadav started the second session with a bang by removing Ryan Rickelton. Later, Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs added 84 for the second wicket, before Ravindra Jadeja ended the South African captain's stay at the crease.
Once again, Yadav ensured that India capitalised on the breakthrough as he took the other set batter in Stubbs and also prised out the key scalp of Wiaan Mulder late in the day. When India took the second new ball, Mohammed Siraj struck in the very first over to have the well-set Tony de Zorzi nicking behind.
Conditions were clearly much better for batting when compared to the pitch in Kolkata but South Africa's batters couldn't retain their focus for long periods. The Bavuma-Stubbs partnership was the only time in the day when the visitors looked in cruise control, although none of their batters seemed to be in any trouble at the crease.
There was some spin on offer for Yadav but nothing dramatic. The wrist spinner ensured that he got his radar right and then varied his pace cleverly to outfox the batters. Washington Sundar and Jadeja also bowled long spells but neither could get the bite that Yadav was getting from the surface.
South Africa had the ideal start to the day with an 82-run opening stand that nearly saw the first session through. However, Markram was always struggling against Bumrah and India's pace ace broke through just before the break. It set the tone for the rest of the day as South Africa failed to cash in on a good toss and decent batting pitch.
Brief scores: South Africa 247/6 (Tristan Stubbs 49, Temba Bavuma 41; Kuldeep Yadav 3-48) vs India
