India will resume on 27 for 2 in Guwahati on Wednesday, still 522 runs short of an eye-watering victory target of 549. South Africa already lead the two-match series 1-0, so a draw is the best India can salvage. That framework sets up a final day that might feel cagey to viewers but matters greatly to a home side trying to halt an uncomfortable trend.
After 17 successive home-series wins between 2012 and 2024, India have now lost one of their last two and are in danger of another. Last season’s 3-0 defeat by New Zealand snapped the record run; a second reversal inside 12 months would sting, even if the dressing-room language remains calm.
Enter Ravindra Jadeja, who fronted up on Tuesday evening and framed the task in pragmatic terms. “We will have to bat well, take it session by session,” Jadeja said. “If we don’t give a wicket in the first session, then there will obviously be pressure on the bowlers, that they need to bowl us out. For us, that will be the win-win situation – if we can bat out the full day tomorrow. For us, it’ll be as good as a winning situation.”
Facts first, then: the pitch has slowed but is still offering variable bounce, particularly from the Football Stand end. Keshav Maharaj found purchase late on day four, while Kagiso Rabada, armed with the second-new ball, hurried Shubman Gill and replacement opener Abhimanyu Easwaran. South Africa, sensible to the scoreboard pressure, kept a slip cordon intact well after the shine had faded.
Jadeja, unbeaten on four overnight, will walk out with Virat Kohli, who has eight. The all-rounder pointed to the toss—lost twice this series—as a turning point. “I don’t find any difference from what we played against them in 2019,” Jadeja said. “I think they almost have the same squad. In cricket, I feel it’s all about timing. It starts from winning the toss. If we would have won the toss on this wicket, then we would have been in a good situation right now. But that’s part and parcel [of the game]. So, now, [it’s about] what comes next – that is, day five. We have to play good cricket and we have to trust our defence. That’s the key. If we play out day five, then, as I said, it’s a win-win situation for us.”
The numbers back up his frustration. Across four innings India have batted only once first, totalling 187, 223, 268 and now 27 for 2. South Africa have passed 400 twice, setting up declarations rather than chases. Such imbalance has exposed a middle order still bedding in after Ajinkya Rahane’s retirement and KL Rahul’s long-term injury.
Yet Jadeja rejected talk of a broader malaise. “See, it’s not difficult. In cricket, it’s always about the situation,” he said. “If you are 312-315 runs ahead in the game, then any batsman can come and play freely. They’re not thinking about spin or bounce, or how the wicket is. But when you’re 300 runs behind and you have to go out and play out a day, defend through it, and know you have a 550-run target, and you know the ball is turning and bouncing, that plays on the mind more.”
Those words are consistent with how India managed pressure during their golden home run. On friendlier surfaces R Ashwin and Jadeja bowled teams out cheaply, and top order hundreds let them dictate the tempo. This series has been the mirror image: South Africa’s quicks nipped early, and their top order, led by Aiden Markram’s 183 in Kolkata and Dean Elgar’s patient 94 here, built scores that allowed Maharaj and Simon Harmer long cracks at a wearing surface.
What does Wednesday require? First, an uncluttered first hour. The older ball is 14 overs old; Rabada has four remaining in his opening burst. Should India reach lunch two down, South Africa may spread the field and wait for mistakes. From there, overs rather than runs become the metric. Statistically, sides have batted out 90 overs to save a Test in India only twice in the last decade, but both occasions involved substantial first-innings parity, which is missing here.
One thing India do possess is experience in batting long. Kohli’s Adelaide 2020 vigil and Jadeja’s Kanpur 2016 stonewall come to mind. Whether those memories translate into modern muscle memory might well decide how this miniature crisis is framed on Thursday morning.
For now, Jadeja’s bar remains clear: occupy the crease, frustrate the tourists and salvage some pride. Anything more would be a bonus; anything less opens an unwelcome conversation about a changing of the guard on home soil.
