Former India head coach Ravi Shastri lashed out at the team’s batting display in Guwahati.
On a pitch where South Africa’s batters flourished, India completely fell apart. Shastri, now a TV pundit, delivered sharp criticism of the hosts, saying their batting looked “very ordinary.”
South Africa piled up 489 runs in their first innings on a batting-friendly surface. Coming in at No. 7, Senuran Muthusamy struck 109, while No. 9 batter Marco Jansen narrowly missed a century, falling for 93.
India, however, collapsed to just 201 on the same pitch, throwing their wickets away with poor shot selection. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the only Indian to score a fifty, making 58. Jansen destroyed the Indian lineup, taking 6 wickets for 48.
Despite a 288-run first-innings lead, South Africa chose not to enforce the follow-on and instead went back in to set a big target.
India’s openers added 65 runs, but once the partnership broke, wickets tumbled quickly and they slid to 122 for 7. Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock questioned the Indian batters’ commitment, and soon after, Shastri also launched into Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, and others.
“It’s still a good wicket. It’s not the kind of pitch where you lose 7 wickets for 142 (actually 122). Very ordinary batting. India have to admit that it’s very ordinary batting.”
At stumps on Day 3, South Africa hold a commanding lead of 314 runs.
