Jansen proved to be the nemesis for Indian batters on Day 3 of the Guwahati Test.
South African all-rounder Marco Jansen has said that the pitch served for the second Test against India in Guwahati is good to bat on and if one can play the short-pitched delivery well, they can go on to score runs.
Jansen proved to be the nemesis for Indian batters on Day 3 of the Test, as he returned with six wickets to help Proteas bundle out the hosts for 201.
The left-arm seamer realized that there was little swing in the air and minimal seam movement off the track, prompting him to unleash a barrage of bouncers, a tactic that proved effective.
“It is a good wicket to bat on. There is a good pace, good bounce. If you play the short ball well, you will score runs and if you bowl well, you will get wickets," Jansen said while speaking to the media at the end of the day’s play.
“The training facilities here were very much the same or similar to the playing wicket, which I think is very nice as a player because you can sort of prepare well. You can wrap your head around how the wicket might play and because of that, you can maximise on your preparation," he added.
Jansen took five of his six wickets with short balls, showing the Indian bowlers what an effective Plan B looks like on a flat track.
“To be honest, the ball was not nipping as much like in Kolkata, so we had to figure out a plan. When I got my first wicket (Dhruv Jurel) with a bouncer, we said, ‘okay cool, let us see how long this is going to work for’ and yeah, it just came off," Jansen remarked.
After gaining a hefty first-innings lead of 288 runs, South African openers Aiden Markram (12*) and Ryan Rickelton (13*) negotiated the new ball comfortably. As a result, the visitors reached 26/0 at stumps, stretching their overall lead to 314.
Having won the first Test in Kolkata by 30 runs, the Proteas have already taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-match series.