India Faces Uphill Battle Against South Africa in Second Test

India's Struggles Continue in Second Test Match

India's disappointing performance against South Africa persisted on Tuesday during the second Test match. Chasing a daunting target of 549 runs set by South Africa, the Indian team lost two wickets for just 21 runs. With the series currently at 1-0 in favor of South Africa, the Indian squad faces a tough challenge on the final day, having only eight wickets remaining. The team lost wickets during the last session of the fourth day, strengthening South Africa's position in the match held at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Current Match Status

By the end of the fourth day, India's score stood at 27/2, with Kuldeep Yadav (4*) and Sai Sudharsan (2*) remaining not out. To level the two-match series at 1-1, the hosts need to chase down 522 runs on the fifth day. Both Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul fell cheaply. South Africa began their second innings at 26/0 and reached 220/4 by lunch, with Tristan Stubbs (60*) and Vian Mulder (29*) at the crease.

Key Moments from the Match

In the session after lunch, Nitish Kumar Reddy hit his first boundary when Stubbs struck four fours off the third ball of the 74th over. Stubbs adopted an aggressive approach, hitting two consecutive fours off Reddy in the 76th over. In the 78th over, the Proteas batsman launched a towering six over deep mid-wicket off Ravindra Jadeja. However, on the third ball of the 78th over, Stubbs, who was nearing his century, was bowled by Jadeja after scoring 94 runs off 180 balls.

South Africa's Declaration

Following Stubbs' dismissal, South Africa opted to declare their innings at 260/5, setting a challenging target of 549 runs. This marks the second instance where India has been given a target exceeding 500 runs in a home Test. Previously, in 2004, Australia set India a target of 543 runs in Nagpur, a match India lost by 342 runs, marking their largest defeat in terms of runs. Indian openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal took to the crease, with Jaiswal showing an aggressive intent with a four and a six, while Rahul started cautiously.