"There couldn't have been a better session than this" - Cheteshwar Pujara lauds India's performance on Day 1 of IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

Former India player Cheteshwar Pujara has lauded the Indian bowlers' performance on Day 1 of the second Test against South Africa. He noted that the hosts had an excellent final session, which was a result of the pressure they had put on the Proteas batters in the first two sessions.

South Africa posted 247/6 in their first innings after opting to bat first in Guwahati on Saturday, November 22. Senuran Muthusamy (25* off 45) and Kyle Verreynne (1* off 4) were the unbeaten batters at Stumps.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Pujara pointed out that the hard yards the Indian bowlers put in the first two sessions yielded rich dividends in the final session.

"The Indian bowlers bowled well even in the first two sessions. The scoring rate was less than three. You got the success of your hard work in the third session - 91 runs, four wickets - there couldn't have been a better session than this in Test match cricket, especially on a wicket like this, where that much help wasn't there," he said.

The former India batter added that it was virtually a perfect day for Rishabh Pant and company.

"So you can call it a perfect day because the enjoyment of Test match cricket is when you set up the game. The Indian team has set up this match extremely well because if South Africa are unable to score more than 350 runs on this wicket, the scales will be massively in India's favor," Pujara reasoned.

South Africa were comfortably placed at 156/2 at Lunch, which was taken after the second session in Guwahati. However, they lost four wickets for 91 runs in the third session to seemingly cede the advantage to India.

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"It won't be easy to take these 4 wickets" - Cheteshwar Pujara on Day 2 of IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

Kuldeep Yadav (3/48) was India's most successful bowler on Day 1 of the Guwahati Test. [P/C: BCCI/X]

However, Cheteshwar Pujara opined that India won't find it easy to take the last four South African wickets on the second morning.

"It won't be easy to take these four wickets because the wicket is good for batting. A little hard work will have to be done tomorrow as well. We want the four wickets to fall as quickly as possible, but these wickets might fall till Lunch (Tea)," he said in the same discussion.

The cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that the hosts would start their first innings only in the second session of Day 2.

"If the Indian team comes to bat in the first session, it would be an excellent session for the Indian team. However, I feel the Indian team will come to bat a little while after Lunch (Tea)," Pujara observed.

On the flip side, former India batter Aakash Chopra opined that KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal would walk out to bat in the first session itself. He reckoned the Indian seamers would strike early blows with the new ball, which was taken just before the close of play on Day 1.

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Edited by Kartik Iyer