India find the shoe on the other foot

Jasprit Bumrah woke up the sparse Sunday crowd in Guwahati with a yorker in the fourth over of the morning. Kyle Verreynne got his bat down in time against a ball fired just under 140 kmph, hinting at what was coming on a long day for the hosts. It was a reflection of what came in the morning session at the very least, as India's aspirations of quickly picking out the last four wickets was met with firm dead-batting.

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The South African lower order ran India ragged on Day 2. (cricbuzz)

The first two hours, then, became all about control. South Africa went to Tea with a control percentage of 94.3, their best in a session on this tour. But that's only half the story. Verreynne and Senuran Muthusamy showed control, but couldn't align that with run-making. It was a case of what Stubbs spoke of after Day 1 - you could bat long, but take one look at the scorecard and you realise it hasn't moved. The duo scored 69 in the morning session in 29.1 overs at a scoring rate of 2.36 - their lowest on this tour. India bowlers maximised this 'good wicket' on Day 1 but there were clear indications that batting was going to get easier on the second day.

A new day called for a newer plan and India, expectedly, adapted. Kuldeep alluded to it at close of play - about having to mix his speeds. There was a big shift in lengths too. India's spinners bowled 24 balls at the back of a length or shorter for the entirety of Day 1, but crossed that number (33) in just the first session of Day 2.