South Africa further underline WTC credentials in Guwahati as India's aura of home invincibility suffers another blow

Cast your mind back a year and a bit. To about October 2024. South Africa found themselves in a mid-table logjam in the World Test Championship standings. They had, on paper, a favourable set of fixtures, but they still needed to win many of those to qualify for the final.

India, meanwhile, were sitting pretty. Another WTC final – their third in as many editions - was within grasp. Earmarked as one of the more complete outfits on the planet, they were, going by the narrative around them, obligated to make the final and perhaps even win it.

South Africa had an assignment in Bangladesh coming up. India had a home series against New Zealand. Both were favourites to win. But considering how tricky Test matches can sometimes become, there was a sense that one of them could be put under the cosh, especially if things did not go their way. No one, though, could have predicted or anticipated what was to follow. Or the chain of events that that would set in motion.

One of these aforementioned sides did struggle. Losing each game in the series, with their adaptability to conditions being questioned, and their potential spot in the WTC final being scoffed at. And that team was not South Africa.

India were swarmed by the Black Caps, getting trumped 3-0 . South Africa won 2-0 against Bangladesh. And against Sri Lanka at home. And against Pakistan at home. They also won the World Test Championship. Against Australia. At Lord’s, no less. And India, perhaps still reeling from that Kiwi humbling, are in real danger of seeing their WTC hopes go up in smoke again.

Of course, there is a lot of time between now and when the cycle ends, and when the final takes place. But it is also tough to escape the evidence that the first two days in Guwahati has brought forth, quite possibly telling everyone watching of India’s fading invincibility, and reiterating the Proteas’ worth as world champions.

South Africa, lest we forget, were welcomed with an absolute dust bowl in Kolkata. The ball kept low. It reared up. It spun. It spun sharply. And it was meant to break the visitors’ resolve at the first time of asking. Instead, when the going got tough, the champions got going . Cliché, yes. But also, undeniable. And in the process, the Proteas have tested India’s resolve and their conviction to keep producing such tracks.

India, as it has turned out, have cracked. It may not be the worst thing for Test cricket (given it should last five days), but it also indicates that India have utmost respect for their visitors, with India also knowing they are in the midst of an almighty scrap. Provided they did not receive that memo beforehand.

Muthusamy and Jansen further deflate India’s series hopes

Sunday in Guwahati only drove that point home further. At the start of the day, South Africa were 247-6 . A lot of touring sides in the past have been better-placed but have been cut down to size by India. The Proteas did not let that happen.

Senuran Muthusamy, brought in as a horses-for-courses change for Corbin Bosch, produced a century of outstanding quality. He barely put a foot wrong. Even against Jasprit Bumrah. Even against Kuldeep Yadav. Even against Ravindra Jadeja. He did enjoy a slight rub of the green when UltraEdge bailed him out off Jadeja’s bowling, but that felt like just reward, and a slice of luck warranted by his otherwise spotless application.

Also Read | Who is Senuran Muthusamy? South Africa batter of Indian origin takes Bumrah & Co to the cleaners

Muthusamy could easily have pondered over his selection and the subsequent chatter around whether South Africa needed another all-rounder, especially when a pacer (Corbin Bosch), who may have made things happen on a relatively docile track, was the one to be omitted. But Muthusamy barely flinched. Becoming only the fifth non-Asian batter this century to score a hundred in India when batting at number seven or lower.

Muthusamy batted as if he had been batting on these shores all his life. He batted as if he had a score to settle and doubters to silence. And he batted like a man with a plan. Like he had referred to last month during South Africa’s tour of Pakistan, where he also played a game-changing unbeaten knock in Rawalpindi.

Marco Jansen was also exceptional on Sunday . He may have arrived in India preparing for a supporting act. But Kagiso Rabada’s absence has cast Jansen as the protagonist, and he has responded. With the ball in Kolkata and now with the bat in Guwahati, where his onslaught through the afternoon session did not just leave India shellshocked, it made them look bereft of ideas, and without a plan. At home and when chasing a series.

A slap on the wrist for South Africa’s critics

Both of these showings, given the circumstances and the context, dovetail with what is expected of world champions, who, whenever they come to town, are obliged to show why they are where they are. Some fail. Some succeed. But the importance of doing that is not lost on any of them.

Which is what makes South Africa’s adventures so far on this Indian tour even more remarkable. And also acts as a slap on the wrist for those who had outraged over South Africa’s credentials, and if they deserved to be in the most recent WTC final, let alone win the entire thing.

The argument then was that South Africa had a favourable fixture list, and that if they had played tougher opposition, they would not have made it that far. Well, they have come to India now. They have a 1-0 lead, and they are in a very, very good position in the second Test.

Oh, and before careening into India, they also went to Pakistan, lost the first Test and then roared back to level the series. Not bad for a side that only got to the final based on favourable fixtures then, is it?

And all this while, India, for the lack of a better word, have spiraled. They may have drawn a Test series away to England , but losses to Australia (away) and New Zealand, plus the possibility of a drawn series (at best) at home to South Africa, has now exposed them to unnerving questions - questions they felt they had the answers to.

Jansen and Muthusamy made India feel that pinch for most of day two. With India fumbling their ripostes, fluffing their lines, and letting South Africa write the script they wanted, and dictate play on what is normally a proud and pompous Indian patch.

That, at the cost of repetition, is what world champions do. They make whichever area they survey, a potential frontier to conquer, almost always doing so with a plan, and with conviction. And that, as damning as it may sound for India, comes at eventual also-rans’ expense, who seem powerless against the champions’ wrath.

The only good thing, though, is that India still have three days to respond. To flex their muscles and to brazenly brandish the WTC contender credentials they have seemingly shelled in recent months, but remain capable of. That they have a readymade blueprint in front of them should also help. Even if the roles, from a year ago, may have been drastically and dramatically reversed.