Simon Harmer takes 2 wickets in an over to leave India at 42/4 in IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test [Watch]

South Africa spinner Simon Harmer dismissed Kuldeep Yadav and Sai Sudharsan in the space of four deliveries early on Day 5 of the second Test against India at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. The right-arm off-spinner has been running the show in the final innings, after having already castled KL Rahul earlier with a stunning delivery.

Team India needed a strong start on the final day to bat out 90 overs and salvage a draw to avoid yet another home series whitewash, and also gain some points in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings. The hosts had the overnight left-handed pair of Kuldeep Yadav and Sai Sudharsan to kick-start the day as South Africa were only eight wickets away from a landmark victory.

Both the batters survived in the early stages of the session as Sudharsan’s dismissal was reversed after Marco Jansen appeared to have overstepped. Kuldeep, on the other hand, got a reprieve after Aiden Markram dropped a sitter at slip off Harmer’s bowling.

It did not take long for the in-form spinner to make an impact as he outfoxed Kuldeep Yadav with a delivery that came along with the arm. The night watchman played for turn, but found the ball with the extra pace breached his defence and crashed into the stumps.

Just a couple of deliveries later, Dhruv Jurel also attempted to play for excess turn. But the ball spun just enough to catch the bat’s outside edge, and Aiden Markram made no mistakes at slip this time around. Have a look at the double strike right here:

Kuldeep Yadav, who played a resilient knock in the first innings after facing 134 deliveries, was dismissed for five runs off 38 deliveries in the second innings.

On the other hand, Dhruv Jurel departed after scoring just two runs. The right-handed batter had a contest to forget as he had recorded an 11-ball duck earlier.

Team India still need to bat out over two and a half sessions for a draw in IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

The Men in Blue have been rocked back by Simon Harmer’s early double charge in their bid to survive the final day and avoid a whitewash. Team India only have six wickets in hand, while the visitors have a plethora of overs to work with and script history.

At the time of writing, the pair of skipper Rishabh Pant and Sai Sudharsan are sharing the crease with the score reading 58-4. The target of 549 was already well out of reach for India, which leaves only two possible outcomes in play.

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Edited by Gokul Nair