The First Session of Day 5 of the IND vs SA 2nd Test has concluded on the score of 90/5 with South Africa, yet again, clearly on top of their opposition.
India has lost 5 wickets, with 2 already having fallen late on Day 4. Simon Harmer dismissed Kuldeep Yadav and Dhruv Jurel in quick succession shortly after the play kicked off.
A captain's knock was expected from Rishabh Pant (standing in for the injured Shubman Gill), but he too fell to Harmer after scoring just 13 runs, edging a regulation catch to Aiden Markram in the slips.
India now needs 459 runs within the remainder of Day 5 to win this Test match and draw the series 1-1, a target which is clearly out of question now.
Sudharsan, Jadeja Partnership A Glimmer Of Hope For India
Sai Sudharsan and Ravindra Jadeja have calmed things down since the three quick wickets early morning.
The former is at 14 off a whopping 138 deliveries, having survived a couple of close calls, whereas the latter is on 23 off 40.
They will have to replicate India's Manchester heroics to salvage a draw from this situation, just like they did against England. Jadeja led the charge there as well, scoring a ton, along with Washington Sundar, who recorded his maiden Test century in the process.
Simon Harmer Player Of The Series Candidate
South Africa's Simon Harmer won Player of the Match in the first IND vs SA Test in Kolkata, having picked 8 wickets across the two innings.
Playing here in Guwahati, the spinner has already secured 7 wickets across the two innings, with plenty of time remaining for him to potentially bag more.
KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant have been his victims so far, with fast bowler Marco Jansen getting rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal late last evening to pressure on India from the get-go.