Ravindra Jadeja turned a deteriorating Eden Gardens track into a theatre of chaos for South Africa on the second day of the opening Test, leaving India a few strides away from victory with two full days still on paper. By stumps, South Africa were reeling at 93 for 7, carrying a fragile lead of 63, with skipper Temba Bavuma (29 not out off 78) fighting a lone and likely futile battle. A target of even 125 on this surface appears beyond reach.

Jadeja’s 4 for 27 in a relentless 13-over spell from the Club House End exposed the cracks that had widened through the day, literally and metaphorically. So commanding was his presence that stand-in captain Rishabh Pant, earlier barking instructions at Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, was caught on the stump microphone saying: “Jaddu bhai, aap dekh lena,” a reminder that the left-armer needs no guidance on a wearing surface.

Simon Harmer’s classical off-spin had dragged South Africa back into the contest earlier, but Jadeja’s immaculate length, stump-attacking line and ability to extract variable turn made survival a matter of chance. Kuldeep Yadav’s 2 for 12 and Axar Patel’s 1 for 30 ensured constant pressure, while Washington Sundar bowled just a single over across the two innings combined.

Jadeja was introduced in the ninth over after tea and struck immediately. His first delivery spat past Aiden Markram’s outside edge; his second induced a ballooning top-edge off an attempted sweep, well held by Dhruv Jurel at short leg. Kuldeep had already removed Ryan Rickelton (11) with a googly, and the openers were gone within minutes.

Also read: Harmanpreet remembers the day she felt ‘richest’

Wiaan Mulder feathered one that kissed the edge, Tony de Zorzi (2) was undone by a turning ball that clipped glove and pad before looping to short leg, and Tristan Stubbs (5) misread everything as Jadeja hit middle stump. The fourth wicket also marked Jadeja’s 250th in India — the fourth-highest for the country at home, behind Kumble, Harbhajan and Ashwin.

Axar then knocked over Kyle Verreynne, the last recognised batter, as South Africa staggered deeper into trouble.

Earlier, Jadeja contributed a useful 27 with the bat, entering elite company alongside Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Daniel Vettori as only the fourth player with 4000 Test runs and 300 wickets.

The pitch has become a talking point. What began as a dry surface on Friday had transformed by mid-morning into what resembled a fourth-day subcontinental wicket. Cracks widened, dust flew even on good-length balls, and bounce turned erratic, conditions Ravi Shastri called “ordinary” and Michael Vaughan described as “awful”. Questions linger over whether curator Sujan Mukherjee produced this track on his own or under pressure.

KL Rahul (39 off 119) and Washington Sundar (29 off 82) had looked solid during a 57-run stand, but Harmer and Keshav Maharaj’s sustained pressure after drinks flipped the momentum. Gill retired hurt with a neck spasm, Rahul fell low at slip, and Pant’s brief counterattack ended with a sharp bouncer from Corbin Bosch.

India folded for 189, taking a slender 30-run lead. With 20 wickets falling in five sessions and the surface disintegrating, the match appears destined for a third-day finish. Even a chase of 120–150 could be testing, making the first session on Sunday decisive.

Scoreboard

South Africa (1st Innings): 159 in 55 overs.
India (1st Innings): Yashasvi Jaiswal b Jansen 12 KL Rahul c Markram b Maharaj 39 Washington Sundar c Markram b Harmer 29 Shubman Gill retired hurt 4 Rishabh Pant c Verreynne b Bosch 27 Ravindra Jadeja lbw b Harmer 27 Dhruv Jurel c & b Harmer 14 Axar Patel c Jansen b Harmer 16 Kuldeep Yadav c Verreynne b Jansen 1 Mohammed Siraj b Jansen 1 Jasprit Bumrah not out 1 
Extras: (B-9, LB-2, nb-5, W-2) 18 
Total: (All out, 62.2 overs) 189 
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-75, 2-79* (Shubman Gill, retired not out), 3-109, 4-132, 5-153, 6-171, 7-172, 8-187, 9-189.
Bowling: Marco Jansen 15-4-35-3, Wiaan Mulder 5-1-15-0, Keshav Maharaj 16-1-66-1, Corbin Bosch 11-4-32-1, Simon Harmer 15.2-4-30-4.
South Africa (2nd Innings): Ryan Rickelton lbw b Kuldeep Yadav 11 Aiden Markram c Jurel b Jadeja 4 Wiaan Mulder c Pant b Jadeja 11 Temba Bavuma batting 29 Tony de Zorzi c Jurel b Jadeja 2 Tristan Stubbs b Jadeja 5 Kyle Verreynne b Patel 9 Marco Jansen c Rahul b Kuldeep Yadav 13 Corbin Bosch batting 1.
Extras: (LB-8) 8 
Total: (For 7 wkts, 35 overs) 93 
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-25, 3-38, 4-40, 5-60, 6-75, 7-91.
Bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 6-1-14-0, Axar Patel 11-0-30-1, Kuldeep Yadav 5-1-12-2, Ravindra Jadeja 13-3-29-4.