Kuldeep Yadav called the pitch at the ACA stadium here a ‘road’ for how flat it was at the end of day two after South Africa amassed 489. On Monday (November 24, 2025), India’s batters, though, made the 22-yard strip look far more menacing than it actually was.

A 45-minute passage of play, either side of the tea interval on the morning of day three, pushed India to an abyss as South Africa tightened its vice-like grip on the second and final Test match.

For the second day in succession, it was Marco Jansen who starred for the visitors, scalping a brilliant six-wicket haul (19.5-5-48-6) to bowl out India for 201.

Despite a healthy 288-run lead, Temba Bavuma did not enforce the follow-on, and South Africa went to stumps on 26 for no loss in its second essay and is ahead by 314.

Jansen, whose quickfire 93 in the first innings swelled the Proteas’ total (489), made full use of his height to bounce out the Indian batters.

Resuming at nine for none, the home team needed to mix caution and aggression to secure a positive outcome in this fixture and level the series. Instead, India imploded, losing six wickets for 27 runs in 11.1 overs, going from 95 for 1 to 122 for 7.

The hosts, though, started positively with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K.L. Rahul adding 65 in quick time. Jaiswal wasted no time in attacking the spinners and brought out the sweep, collecting two boundaries and a six en route his half-century.

Just as India was motoring along at nearly four runs per over, Keshav Mahraj got one to spin and jump enough to hit the shoulder of Rahul’s bat, and Aiden Markram pouched an easy one at slip, the first of his five catches.

The South African tweakers were slower through the air and found more purchase than their Indian counterparts, in terms of turn and bounce to keep the batters guessing.

About 20 minutes before tea, Simon Harmer got into the action. Jaiswal, batting well on 58, was surprised by a delivery from the off-spinner that bounced extra and got a leading edge with Jansen completing a good catch diving forward.

Sai Sudharsan, back at no.3, failed to grab his chance, pulling a long-hop from Harmer to short-midwicket.

In the last over before the break, Dhurv Jurel inexplicably tried to pull Jansen from outside off-stump and hit it straight to mid-on.

Having lost three wickets in 20 balls, India needed to be a bit more watchful, but skipper Rishabh Pant had other ideas. He charged down to Jansen and nicked it behind, attempting a wild heave.

The left-arm pacer then removed Nitish Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja in successive overs, both caught in the cordon fending against well-directed short-pitch deliveries.

By the time he finished his second spell (8-1-18-4), India were in dire straits. From there, Washington Sundar (48) and Kuldeep Yadav forged a 72-run alliance for the eighth wicket. Washington, pushed down to number eight, yet again gave a good account of his strong technique, handling the spinners easily using his long reach. Kuldeep too looked assured, and the duo showed great application in stitching a vital partnership.

In the final session, Jansen fittingly closed out the innings after taking the second new ball and completed his fourth five-for.