NEW DELHI: Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen toyed with India’s finger spinners in ideal batting conditions, delivering crucial lower-order contributions as South Africa seized control of the second Test by amassing a massive 489 in their first innings on Sunday.

Trailing 0-1 in the two-match series, India ended the day at nine for no loss in 6.1 overs when stumps were drawn in fading light.

Muthusamy, coming off a match-winning 89 not out against Pakistan in Rawalpindi a month ago, scored his maiden Test hundred, a gritty 109 off 206 balls. Jansen, meanwhile, attacked the Indian spinners with an aggressive 93 off 91 balls, sending them on a leather hunt.

The last four Proteas batters, from numbers 7 to 11, added 243 runs. Muthusamy and Kyle Verreynne put together 88 for the seventh wicket, and the centurion then added another 97 runs with Jansen for the eighth.

Jansen hit seven sixes, the most by any overseas batter on Indian soil, surpassing Viv Richards and Matthew Hayden, who had both struck six in an innings.

The South African innings lasted 151.1 overs, with all five Indian specialist bowlers delivering 25 or more overs each. Rishabh Pant’s captaincy lacked a plan B, and the Barsapara pitch showed no signs of wear to help the bowlers.

Kuldeep Yadav (4/115 in 29.1 overs) tried varying his pace, but Muthusamy, Verreynne (45 off 122 balls), and Jansen read him well.

Finger spinners struggle on placid track

The biggest concern for India was the performance of the two finger spinners, Ravindra Jadeja (2/94 in 28 overs) and Washington Sundar (0/58 in 26 overs). Neither could generate any significant turn or bounce, and their figures barely reflected the challenge they faced.

Jasprit Bumrah (2/75 in 32 overs) was the only bowler showing penetration, briefly getting the ball to reverse in the second session. But with little support from Jadeja and Sundar, even Bumrah struggled to maintain pressure. This exposes the long-standing issue in Indian team management — from Dhoni to Kohli and Sharma — of relying on spinners who can generate significant turn on placid tracks.

Both Jadeja and Washington have focused heavily on white-ball cricket, which affects their ability to bowl slower through the air and extract deviation on Test surfaces. Muthusamy and Verreynne survived the first session comfortably, and the second session became a cakewalk as Jansen attacked freely, dominating Jadeja and Kuldeep over long-on, further denting the confidence of the Indian side.

Batters will need to respond

India will hope their batters can take advantage of the good batting conditions and fight back. Historically, opposition teams have scored over 450 in India and still lost, as seen in Chennai in 2016 when Karun Nair scored a triple hundred after England posted 477. Jadeja ran through the England lineup with a seven-wicket haul in the second innings.

The red soil tracks tend to stay compact for the first two days but can crumble quickly later, offering Jadeja a chance to revive his magic in favourable conditions.

(With PTI Inputs)