South Africa are on the cusp of their first series win in India in 25 years, after having reduced the hosts to 27/2 in an improbable chase of 549 in the second Test in Guwahati.
Following South Africa's declaration at 260 for 5 in their second innings on Day 4, India found themselves in deep trouble by the end of play on Tuesday, losing both their openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (13), dismissed by Marco Jansen, and KL Rahul (6), caught off Simon Harmer's bowling. Sai Sudharsan (2 not out) and night-watchman Kuldeep Yadav (4 not out) remained at the crease. However, it will require an extraordinary effort from India's remaining batsmen on the final day to save the match and prevent a humiliating 0-2 series whitewash.
India's only glimmer of hope might be that daylight fades rapidly in this region after 3:45 pm. This could mean fewer overs are bowled, as no more than about 80 overs have been played on any of the previous four days.
A whitewash would mark India's second major home series loss against a team from South Africa, England, New Zealand, or Australia (SENA nations) over the past year.
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Tristan Stubbs played a superb innings for the reigning World Test Champions, scoring 94 runs from 180 balls. He had missed a half-century in the first innings by one run, and this time, he fell short of his maiden Test century by only six runs. He formed crucial partnerships, including a 101-run stand for the fourth wicket with Tony de Zorzi (49) and another 82-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Wiaan Mulder (35 not out). Earlier, Ryan Rickleton (28) and Aiden Markram (35) had also put together a strong opening stand of over 50 runs.
After Stubbs became Ravindra Jadeja's fourth victim of the innings (finishing with 4 wickets for 62 runs in 28.3 overs), captain Temba Bavuma declared South Africa's second innings. The Proteas captain, with his experience, appeared tactically superior to India's stand-in captain Rishabh Pant, who is making his debut as a leader in this one-off Test. Bavuma could have declared the innings much earlier, especially after their lead grew past 450 runs. However, he probably wanted to ensure that the SG Test ball remained in good condition and relatively new for his bowlers when they take the field on the final morning. The South African bowlers would then be able to take advantage of any assistance the pitch offers before it becomes completely flat and easier for batting.
Pant's tactical decisions and field settings were questionable, as he constantly changed between an "in-out" field (some close, some deep) and placing five fielders on the boundary to prevent fours, indicating a lack of consistent strategy.
At one point, it seemed as though the Indian team had given up on taking wickets and was simply waiting for Bavuma to eventually declare the innings.
