Former India captain Anil Kumble strongly criticized the host team’s batting performance during the second Test against South Africa, calling it “quite poor” and highlighting a clear lack of discipline, application, and patience. Despite Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav terming the pitch “a road” the previous day, the batsmen failed to build a score and were bowled out for just 201 in their first innings, leaving South Africa in a commanding position with a lead of 314 runs at the end of Day 3.
Kumble pointed out that many batsmen did not show the necessary resilience to endure tough spells or play session-by-session. He felt that the approach was to “chase runs quickly,” which is unrealistic in Test cricket, particularly when replying to South Africa’s first innings total of 489. The batting lineup suffered an abject collapse, losing six wickets for only 27 runs, falling from 95/1 to 122/7 due to what Kumble termed “reckless shot selection.” He specifically called the quick dismissals of Sai Sudharsan, Dhurv Jurel, and captain Rishabh Pant a “brain fade.”
He lauded South African all-rounder Marco Jansen, who followed up his 93 runs with a destructive spell of 6-48, for bowling exceptionally well and consistently pressuring the Indian side. Kumble noted that the Indian batsmen appeared unprepared to counter Jansen’s height and awkward length. He contrasted the top order’s failure with the “fight and grit” shown by the lower-order pair of Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav, whose 72-run partnership helped India reach 201.
