Team India suffered an alarming batting collapse on the third day of the ongoing second Test against South Africa in Guwahati. They were bundled out for 201 in after the visitors posted 489 runs in the first innings. Ad The hosts began well with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul adding 65 runs for the opening stand. However, once both openers were dismissed, they lost wickets at regular intervals and fell from 95/1 to 122/7. Washington Sundar (48 off 92) and Kuldeep Yadav (19 off 134) provided some resistance towards the end with a 72-run stand. South Africa batted again and ended the day on 26 for no loss with a massive lead of 314 runs. On that note, here are the top five expert reactions on India’s batting collapse on the third day. Ad Trending #5 Abhinav Mukund Former batter Abhinav Mukund called for a need to reassess the plans and strategies in Test cricket, particularly while playing at home. They have already lost four out of their six Tests at home under head coach Gautam Gambhir. “Definite question marks about Indian batsmen. India don’t play a Test series at home next year. They have a long time to reassess what to do at Test-match level. This performance against South Africa will definitely hurt,” he was quoted as saying by Revsportz. Ad #4 Aakash Chopra Former batter Aakash Chopra expressed his disappointment with India’s batting performance on the third day. He highlighted how India struggled to pick wickets, but South Africa cleaned them up with ease. Chopra called the batting ‘below par’ and reckoned that the batters lacked application. “We bowled a lot and got wickets with difficulty. The opposition comes and picks wickets in every session and bowls us out for 201. You lost wickets to short bowling. They are playing way too below par. Be it Rishabh Pant’s shot selection, Jurel’s shot selection, one after the other. Too many problems. We are not playing good cricket. There was a lack of application,” he said on his YouTube channel. Ad #3 Shaun Pollock Former South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock expressed his disbelief at India losing six wickets for just 27 runs in their innings. While he acknowledged the efforts of Jaiswal, Sundar, and Kuldeep, he deemed it too easy for the Proteas and criticised the manner in which the Indian batters were dismissed. “Can’t believe it really, to be brutally honest. Thinking of the first two days, what would go on Day 3. To lose six wickets for the additional 27 runs at one stage. Jaiswal was great at the top of the order, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav showed some fight but it all just seemed easy for South Africa. Bowling them out for 201 after posting almost 500 and to have a lead out there. I suppose also the manner in which the dismissals occurred,” he said on Cricbuzz. Ad #2 Kris Srikkanth Former India batter and 1983 World Cup winner Kris Srikkanth was puzzled at the way things unfolded for the hosts with the bat. He was unhappy with the Indian batters getting out to short balls on a wicket that was not deadly. Srikkanth also questioned the batting order and the selection policy. He highlighted how Sundar was sent at number eight after batting at number three in the previous Test and being the best batter of the team. Ad “I dont understand what is happening. Kuldeep told the wicket was like a road. You are losing wickets to Harmer, losing wickets to bouncers. It is not a deadly wicket but you are getting out to bouncers. You don’t have answers to basic short bowling. What kind of wicket should you given then? 201 all out? I don’t understand the logic with the batting order too. Sundar played as a batter in one Test and now you send him down. One side you say we can field three teams, one side you say transition, one side. I don’t understand the selection policy,” he said on his YouTube channel. Ad #1 Ravi Shastri Former India all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri blasted the Indian team, calling it an ‘ordinary’ batting effort after the collapse. He stated that it was a good surface to bat on and that the hosts would not be happy with their poor performance. “This is still a good surface. This is not a pitch to be 142 for 7. Ordinary batting. India won’t be one bit happy. You have to put your hands up and say that’s very ordinary batting,” he said on air. Ad Shastri also slammed the changes in the batting order and the team selection. He failed to find logic behind the decisions, criticising coach Gambhir’s calls throughout the series. “Just doesn’t make sense. I don’t understand the thought process there. And when they look back at the series, some of the selections. I am still trying to fathom the thought process behind them. In Kolkata, one of the spinners (Sundar) bowled just one over. Ideally, you could have gone with another specialist batsman. Similarly, here, Washington batted at three in the last Test and could have easily batted at four here, now that you had a number three. He’s not a number eight; he’s far better than a number eight,” he added. India are on the verge of another loss and another Test series defeat at home, having previously suffered a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand last year. × Feedback Why did you not like this content? Clickbait / Misleading Factually Incorrect Hateful or Abusive Baseless Opinion Too Many Ads Other Was this article helpful? Thank You for feedback Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news Edited by Rishab Vm.
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Who said what – top 5 expert reactions to India’s alarming batting collapse on Day 3 of IND vs SA 2025 1st Test ft. Ravi Shastri
