"Can't blame the pitch this time" - Fans fume at India's shocking batting display on Day 3 of IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test 

Team India slumped to a humiliating collapse on Day 3 of the second Test against South Africa at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Monday, November 24. The hosts slumped to 122-7 from 94-1 in the first innings, in reply to the visitors' mammoth tally of 489 in the must-win contest.

The Men in Blue could only end up with 201 runs, to concede a mammoth lead of 288 runs. After a stable position for the majority of the first session, which saw Yashasvi Jaiswal record his first fifty against the Proteas, India completely imploded to lose three wickets in a short burst before the session break.

Things took a turn for the worse in the second session as skipper Rishabh Pant perished while attempting an outrageous slog in the early stages. The collapse continued with both Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja falling prey to Marco Jansen's bouncers.

India needed a late partnership from the unlikely pair of Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav to avoid further embarrassment. Despite the pair's best efforts, the lead was steep and out of reach as their 72-run partnership only delayed the inevitable.

Fans were absolutely furious after witnessing Team India's performance on a decent batting track at a time when they needed a win to level the series. Have a look at some of the reactions right here:

Amit Paranjape

@aparanjape

Looks like India in trouble again, against South Africa... in the 2nd Test. Falling behind in both departments - bowling and batting? What's going wrong? Selection? Can't blame the pitch this time... #IndvsSA

Varun

@varun100

Why is India batting like England? I expected this match to be at least a draw. I guess we will be often seeing series defeats and whitewashes in Gautam Gambhir era 😅 #IndvsSA

Akshat Tiwari

@Akshat5797

Indian batting struggling as usual. Wrong talents are being pushed it seems. #SaiSudharshan & all such mediocres are domestic level players only with such flawed technique. India loosing 2-0 at home & test cricket in dire state it seems. Time to wakeup @BCCI #IndianCricket

Sudhanshu Sehgal

@sudhanshu1011

India is not facing one of the best bowling line ups from South Africa but again they have collapsed. Their bowlers have played 20 something test matches except Maharaj. If Kuldeep Yadav can bat for 130 balls, what is the issue with batting line up then.

Vijay Anaparthi

@VijayCricketFan

Kuldeep Yadav ended up facing more balls than any other Indian batter in a single innings in this series. That pretty much sums up India batting at home.

︎︎︎ ︎

@Shimographer

If Kuldeep Yadav can survive 120+ deliveries on this pitch after South Africa piled on 400+ across the first two days, serious questions need to be asked of India’s batting unit and the coaching staff. Clearly, this pitch isn’t as challenging as it’s being made out to be...

Apurv Sardeshmukh

@apurvlawyer

India’s batting line up - number 3 guy who is not sure of his place and has no test hundred - no 4 a bloke who started as a wicketkeeper but is now playing a specialist batsman .. no 5 the actual wicket keeper .. number 6 all rounder .. no 7 nether bowler a bit of a batsman

South Africa opt against the follow-on as India need a miracle in IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

The Proteas managed to bundle out India for less than half of their dominant first innings score. However, despite the significant lead of 288, they decided not to enforce the follow-on, and will bat once again in the second innings to hand India a target to chase down in the final innings of the series.

South Africa have the task of facing the Indian seamers with the new ball amid fading light towards the end of the final session in Guwahati. At the time of writing, openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton have taken the crease to face Jasprit Bumrah.