Ravindra Jadeja puts India on brink of victory against South Africa at Eden Gardens

Ravindra Jadeja’s 4/27 left South Africa struggling at 93/7 on a crumbling Eden Gardens pitch, giving India control of the opening Test. With Jadeja reaching 250 Test wickets, India now stand on the verge of victory

Kolkata: The nightmare of facing Ravindra Jadeja on an Eden Gardens track, deteriorating between deliveries, turned into reality for the South African batters as India closed in on victory by the end of the second day in the opening Test.

At stumps, Jadeja’s 4 for 27 in 13 overs left South Africa reeling at 93 for 7 with an overall lead of 63. Skipper Temba Bavuma (29 not out off 78 balls) was waging a lone battle, but to even compete on the third day — which will almost certainly be the last of this game — South Africa will need at least 125 runs, a target that looks improbable.

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Once Jadeja came into the attack, stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant, who had been giving instructions to Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, was heard on the stump microphone saying: “Jaddu bhai, aap dekh lena,” an ample indication that the master craftsman needed no guidance.

If Simon Harmer’s classical off-spin had brought South Africa back into the contest earlier in the day, Jadeja was always going to be a menace on a crumbling surface with his immaculate length and ability to attack the stumps.

Kuldeep Yadav chipped in with 2 for 12, while Axar Patel took 1 for 30, giving Jadeja perfect support. India’s fourth spinner, Washington Sundar, bowled only a solitary over in the 90 overs the hosts have sent down across two innings so far.

Bowling a relentless 13-over spell from the Club House End, Jadeja’s accuracy on a two-paced, dust-spewing surface swung the game back India’s way in a dramatic finish to a day that saw 15 wickets tumble (discounting Shubman Gill’s retired hurt).

Introduced in the ninth over of the innings — the second after tea — Jadeja struck almost immediately. His first ball turned sharply past Aiden Markram’s outside edge; the next, overpitched on middle, turned away, and Markram’s attempted sweep ballooned off a thick top edge to Dhruv Jurel at short leg.

With Kuldeep having removed Ryan Rickelton (11) in the previous over, South Africa lost both openers within minutes of wiping the deficit. Jadeja then dismissed Wiaan Mulder (11), Tony de Zorzi (2), and Tristan Stubbs (5), the last marking his 250th Test wicket in India — behind only Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, and R. Ashwin.

Earlier, Jadeja contributed a valuable 27 with the bat, entering the elite club of Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, and Daniel Vettori as only the fourth cricketer with the double of 4000 Test runs and 300 wickets.

Pitch under spotlight

What began as a slightly dry surface on Friday transformed into a fourth-day subcontinental wicket by Saturday morning. Cracks widened, dust flew on good-length balls, and bounce became alarmingly variable — conditions Ravi Shastri termed “ordinary” and Michael Vaughan called “awful.”

India folded for 189 earlier in the day, with Simon Harmer (4/30) and Marco Jansen (3/35) exploiting the conditions. Despite a slender 30-run lead, India’s spinners have already shown enough control to suggest that even a chase of 120-150 could prove tricky.