Guwahati, Nov 25: India found moments of success through Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, but South Africa continued to command proceedings on Day 4 of the second Test, courtesy of a brilliant 94 by Tristan Stubbs as the youngster’s knocked helped the team stretch their lead to over 500 runs and eventually declaring at 260/5 to set India a target of 549 runs.

The day began with the visitors resuming at 26/0, and openers Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram looking assured as they raised the score to 58 before India’s spinners made their impact. Rickelton, who benefited from early luck, was dismissed for 35 while attempting an aggressive shot, handing Jadeja his first breakthrough. The left-arm spinner struck again soon after, removing Markram for 29 with a sharp turn that troubled the batters throughout the morning.

Washington Sundar complemented Jadeja superbly, bowling a disciplined spell with subtle variations in pace that kept South Africa’s scoring in check. His persistence paid off when he removed captain Temba Bavuma, who flicked a simple catch to leg slip. Despite a few missed run-out opportunities, India looked energetic in the field and kept the visitors’ progress steady rather than free-flowing.

At 107/3 by tea, the session appeared evenly balanced as Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs steadied the innings, combining caution with calculated aggression. Both batters found regular boundaries and shifted momentum again in South Africa’s favour heading into the second session.

De Zorzi and Stubbs batted with purpose, sweeping, cutting, and rotating strike as if playing on a surface entirely different from the one tormenting India. Every boundary struck through the gaps felt like a reminder: South Africa were not just surviving, they were progressing. Zorzi’s sweeps scythed through the leg side with authority, while Stubbs absorbed pressure before unleashing strokes that drained India’s early energy.

After tea, Jadeja trapped de Zorzi lbw just shy of a half-century. Yet even that wicket felt like a pause rather than a shift. Stubbs marched on to his fifty, unhurried and unbothered, as Wiaan Mulder joined him to push the lead past 500 with quiet confidence.

With four sessions remaining in the match, the Proteas showed no inclination to declare early, adding 113 runs in the second session for the loss of just one wicket. India even turned to part-timer Yashasvi Jaiswal for an over, but South Africa’s control remained unchallenged.

At lunch, South Africa had moved to 220/4 in 70 overs, firmly on top as India faced a huge scare.

As Stubbs approached a century, the Proteas continued their batting innings after lunch, despite many expecting a declaration. The young player entered the nervous nineties, and South Africa watched to see if he could reach 100 before the declaration. However, as soon as he was dismissed, Bavuma indicated the batters to come back in, thereby closing their innings at 260/5 and setting the hosts a massive 549-run target.

While a win looks difficult here, Team India will look to bat throughout the remainder of Day 4 and on Wednesday, the final day of the game, to draw the match. South Africa, meanwhile, will aim to bowl out the hosts again to add a historic victory under their belt, while also gaining some crucial World Test Championship points.

Brief Scores: South Africa 489 and 260/5d in 78.3 overs (Tristan Stubbs 94, Tony de Zorzi 49; Ravindra Jadeja 4/62) lead India 201 all out in 83.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 58, Washington Sundar 48; Marco Jansen 6-48, Simon Harmer 3-64) by 548 runs.

New Delhi, Nov 24: Former India captain Anil Kumble believes that Liam Livingstone’s high price was likely a factor in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s decision to release him into the IPL 2026 auction pool.

Livingstone played for RCB in their title-winning IPL 2025 season after being bought for Rs. 8.75 crore at last year’s mega auction. However, he had an underwhelming time – scoring 112 runs in eight innings with a strike rate of 133.33, including one half-century, and taking two wickets in nine overs with an economy rate of 8.44.

It would be interesting to see if RCB or any other team ropes him in for the IPL 2026 auction, to be held in Abu Dhabi, on December 16. “Releases are always tough calls. Liam Livingstone is someone I enjoyed working with closely, and he was extremely good for Punjab in IPL 2022, probably his best IPL season. He can change the game single-handedly in just a few overs with his powerful batting.”

“What makes him special is his bowling flexibility; he bowls leg spin to right-handers and off spin to left-handers, plus he’s a good fielder, making him a complete package. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a great IPL season for RCB last year and also missed out on selection for England.”

“Otherwise, I’m sure other franchises would be interested in him. His high price tag was likely a factor in the release. RCB also needs to find backup options, both an overseas fast bowler and an Indian fast bowler to support their main bowling attack of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood. This need for bowling depth might be another reason behind this tough call,” said Kumble, a former RCB skipper, on JioStar.

Saba Karim, former India wicketkeeper-batter and national selector, questioned RCB’s decision to release young batter Swastik Chikara. “It’s a splendid position for RCB to be finally being called as the defending champions. Talking about their auction plans, they can still buy back Liam Livingstone in the mini-auction if he doesn’t go for too high a price.”

“I’m also surprised they didn’t retain Swastik Chikara, who was an excellent buy last season after his prolific performances in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. I was actually expecting him to get a game, but he didn’t play a single match and now, hasn’t been retained. If RCB wants to strengthen their batting lineup, there are several Indian uncapped batsmen they can target in the auction to build their squad depth for the upcoming season,” he added.

Guwahati, Nov 22: Ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah brought a long-awaited breakthrough for India by dismissing Aiden Markram on the stroke of tea, as South Africa reached 82/1 in 26.5 overs against India at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Saturday.

Bumrah had created an opportunity earlier in the first session, but KL Rahul failed to hold on to a sharp chance at slip, giving Markram a life on four. But the right-handed opener eventually fell in the final over before the 20-minute tea break by chopping on to his stumps off Bumrah.

Until that dismissal, Markram and Ryan Rickelton looked largely assured. It would be interesting to see if India, who toiled hard for the majority of the first session, will be able to capitalise on the breakthrough from Bumrah and gain an edge over the Proteas in the second session.

In the morning, after electing to bat first on a fresh red soil pitch, Markram and Rickelton ensured South Africa had a steady start against new ball bowlers Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. The duo got decent carry and swing, though two sets of byes went against wicketkeeper and skipper Rishabh Pant’s name.

Though the atmosphere was subdued at India’s newest Test venue due to sparse attendance, which was in complete contrast to the well‑attended Eden Gardens Test last week, Bumrah and Siraj continued to keep the openers in check. Markram finally opened his account with a solid punch off Bumrah for four, before surviving a dropped catch by Rahul at slip.

With Siraj bowling touch too full and wide, Markram and Rickelton found a few boundaries off him, as South Africa reached 34/0 at the first drinks break. Nitish Kumar Reddy struggled for consistency – drifting onto the pads too often and conceding boundaries to Markram, while Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar found some turn and bounce, though Rickelton got streaky boundaries off them.

Captain Pant’s decision to bring Bumrah late in the session to deliver the breakthrough paid off when he dismissed Markram and Rahul, who had earlier spilled a chance of him, had a smile full of relief on his face as India finally had a wicket before tea.

Brief Scores: South Africa 82/1 in 26.5 overs (Aiden Markram 38, Ryan Rickelton 35 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 1-7) against India.