"Temba Bavuma was starting to itch" - Former Proteas star hails India's bowlers after Day 1 of 2nd IND vs SA 2025 Test

Former South African fast bowler Vernon Philander praised India's bowlers for putting the Proteas batters under pressure and forcing them into false strokes on Day 1 of the Guwahati Test. He added that India's bowlers were aptly rewarded for their impressive performance on Day 1.

South Africa won the toss and decided to bat first again in the second Test against India at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday, November 22. The Proteas were 156-2 at the end of the second session, but lost their way in the wake of some precise bowling and ended the day at 247-6 after 81.5 overs.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Philander was effusive in his praise of India's bowlers and credited them for never allowing South Africa's batters to get away. The 40-year-old stated:

"You look at how India made life difficult for them to score. Very often, as a batter, this game is still about scoring runs, batting with some tempo. You could see Temba Bavuma was just starting to itch. He couldn't get the singles that he was after. And then, he was forced to play that big shot. India created their own luck by squeezing South Africa. "A similar sort of shot attempted by Wiaan Mulder a couple of overs later, which led to his downfall as well. If you build pressure, the game will reward you. This is the wonderful example of Test cricket. The simple basics we talk about," Philander added.

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav stood out for India with 3-48 from 17 overs on Day 1 of the Guwahati Test. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja picked up one wicket each.

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Visiting batters failed to convert starts on Day 1 of 2nd IND vs SA 2025 Test

Batting first after winning the toss, South Africa got off to a confident start as their openers added 82 runs. However, both Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton failed to carry on after getting starts. Markram was cleaned up by Bumrah for 38, while Rickelton was caught behind off Kuldeep for 35.

It was the story of the day for South Africa as the next four batters also got into double figures, but none of them reached 50. Skipper Temba Bavuma was dismissed for 41, Tristan Stubbs contributed 49, while Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi were dismissed for 13 and 28 respectively.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert