Marco Jansen produced a once-in-a-generation all-round performance in Guwahati, becoming the first South African to score a half-century and take a six-wicket haul in a Test against India.
His blazing 93 in the first innings and exceptional figures of 6 for 48 powered South Africa into overwhelming control and turned the match into a personal triumph for the 25-year-old.
On a surface that offered considerably more assistance to batters than bowlers, Jansen delivered a spell of rare quality for a left-arm pacer in India. He extracted bounce, movement and sustained lift that few seamers manage in these conditions, making his effort stand out even more.
Part of an elite club
Jansen’s performance placed him alongside a short list of visiting players who have scored a fifty and taken a five-wicket haul in a Test in India since 2000:
Marco Jansen (South Africa), Guwahati, 2025 – 93 & 6/48
Nicky Boje (South Africa), Bengaluru, 2000 – 85 & 5/83
Jason Holder (West Indies), Hyderabad, 2008 – 52 & five wickets
By going one better with a six-for, Jansen now owns the most dominant performance of the group.
Jansen dismantles India’s middle order
Jansen set India’s collapse in motion early, removing Dhruv Jurel in the morning session. He returned after tea with a devastating burst, accounting for Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja in quick succession. Jasprit Bumrah then edged behind to give him his sixth wicket, sealing India’s lower-order slide and exposing a familiar pattern of batting fragility.
India crumble after a steady start
Responding to South Africa’s formidable 489, India began with promise. Resuming on 9 for no loss, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul put on a composed opening stand. Jaiswal brought up his maiden Test fifty against South Africa, while B Sai Sudharsan—replacing the injured Shubman Gill—looked assured at No. 3.
The innings shifted suddenly when Jaiswal fell to Simon Harmer, brilliantly caught by Jansen at backward point. Sudharsan departed soon after, and the slide began. Reintroduced late in the session, Jansen struck almost immediately: Jurel miscued a pull, Pant fell to aggression, and both Reddy and Jadeja were undone by steep bounce. Bumrah’s edge handed Jansen his sixth.
Despite Washington Sundar’s battling 48 and brief support from Kuldeep Yadav, India folded for 201, conceding a huge first-innings deficit. South Africa chose not to enforce the follow-on and returned to bat, firmly in control of the Test.
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