New Delhi: India’s chase of 124 in the first Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens began in nightmare fashion as openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul
fell cheaply. Jaiswal who was untouchable at home, was dismissed for a four-ball duck while Rahul could manage just a single run off six deliveries. The quick strikes by Marco Jansen left Men in Blue reeling at 1/2, putting immediate pressure on the middle order.
Before this match, Jaiswal had been exceptional on home soil, having scored 1,322 runs at an average of 57.47 with three hundreds and seven half-centuries. He had never been dismissed for a duck in 24 innings at home. That run came to a shocking end as Jansen bowled him twice in the match, highlighting the bowler’s skill and the challenge of the tricky Eden Gardens surface.
The left-arm pacer exploited the pitch beautifully. Jaiswal got a delivery that straightened slightly after pitching and edged it to the keeper while Rahul faced a steeper bounce that forced another edge to Kyle Verreynne. Jansen’s pace, bounce and height made life extremely difficult for India’s opener, who had been expected to provide a solid start for a small chase.
Record low aggregate for Indian openers
The combined total of just one run by Jaiswal and Rahul created an unwanted milestone. It’s the lowest opening stand by Indian openers in a home Test since 2010 when Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir managed the same.
| Matches | Partnership | Batsmen |
| India vs Australia, Chennai 1964 | 0 | ML Jaisimha (0), Indrajitsinhji (0) |
| India vs New Zealand, Mohali 1999 | 0 | Devang Gandhi (0), S Ramesh (0) |
| India vs New Zealand, Ahmedabad 2010 | 1 | Gambhir (0), Sehwag (1) |
| India vs South Africa, Kolkata 2025 | 1 | Yashasvi Jaiswal (0), KL Rahul (1) |
Jaiswal record against SA
Jaiswal’s poor record against the Proteas continued with his highest score in six Test innings against them being just 28. The left-hander’s third duck in Test this year puts him alongside Mohammed Siraj while Jasprit Bumrah leads the unwanted list with four ducks.
South Africa fightback on Day 3
Earlier, South Africa’s second innings had been lifted by skipper Temba Bavuma, who remained unbeaten on 55 from 136 balls and Corbin Bosch, who supported him with 25 off 37. Their 44-run partnership ensured the visitors reached 123, giving them something to defend and making India’s chase more challenging than initially expected.
With Jaiswal and Rahul back in the pavilion so early, the middle order will now have to navigate a tricky target under pressure. India still have a manageable chase ahead as the Eden Gardens highest chase in Test is just 117 runs and Proteas sharp bowling have already made it clear that the contest is far from over.
