India continued their dominance over South Africa on the third day of the second Test. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav made ideal use of the Pune pitch and the Proteas lost two wickets in the first session. At lunch, South Africa were reeling at 136/6 with skipper Faf du Plessis and Senuran Muthusamy batting at 52 and 6 respectively. The match completely looks in India’s favour and the South Africans will have to put up an extraordinary effort in order to come back in the game. The visitors have lost half their side and only the tailenders are left to bat. So, the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will certainly fancy their chances of wrapping up South Africa’s innings quickly in the next session. India Vs South Africa, Live Cricket Score 2nd Test Match.
At the start of the day, South Africa came in to bat 36/3 with Theunis de Bruyn and night watchman Anrich Nortje on the crease. Shami didn’t take long in dismissing Nortje (3) and soon De Bruyn (30) also fall prey to Umesh Yadav. However, Skipper Du Plessis tried to steady the ship with wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock and the duo also added 75 runs for the sixth wicket. Ashwin finally dismissed De Kock for 31 and tightened India's grip over the match. The second session of Day three will be very crucial for both the side and the fate of the game could well be decided in this time.
Earlier in the match, Skipper Virat Kohli scored a splendid double ton (254) as India mustered 601 runs in the first innings. Apart from the Indian captain, Agarwal scored 108 runs while Ravindra Jadeja made 92. After a tiring day with the ball, South Africa’s top order tumbled too as openers Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram were dismissed for low scores. Umesh Yadav is the pick of the bowlers for India with three wickets. So, India clearly have the upper hand in the game and are looking all set to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 12, 2019 11:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).