India’s players celebrate the dismissal of South Africa’s Senuran Muthusamy (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) Former South African fast bowler Dale Steyn commented on India’s bowling strategy during the second day of the second India vs. South Africa at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.India had South Africa 247-6 at the end of Day 1 but the visitors managed to score 489 runs as Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen dominated the Indian bowling attack.On JioStar’s ‘Cricket Live’, Steyn analyzed India’s bowling approach and pointed out their reluctance to adapt their strategy and their overly defensive pitching. “I thought they batted well to a certain extent, but they didn’t stray from their original plan at times. They stuck to Plan A for too long and didn’t really go to Plan B or C. They were too defensive at times – when the batter came in, there were long, long, deep squares, which allowed the batter to cope with light singles back in India.“They could have attacked more early on and tried to force the batsmen to hit one side of the pitch. They kept bowling straight at the stumps, which opened up both sides – off and leg. In Kolkata, the plan worked because the pitch demanded it, but on a flatter wicket like this, they needed something different,” added JioStar expert Dale Steyn.Senuran Muthusamy scored his first Test century, scoring 109 runs, while Marco Jansen produced an aggressive batting performance with 93 runs off 91 balls, including six boundaries and seven sixes.Former Indian cricketer and head coach Anil Kumble offered his perspective on Jansen’s performance and his partnership with Muthusamy.“It’s never easy when the lower order is contributing so much. Marco Jansen completely took the game away from India in this session, especially with the way he looked to be hitting sixes. He clearly trusts his bat; he carries more than four bats and definitely needs a long blade. He was excellent against the spinners and even took the short ball. Perhaps he started to look too lazily towards the end as he trusted his hundred. A fantastic innings and his partnership with Muthusami ensured that South Africa they won’t cross 400 – they have come close to 500,” Kumble said.The partnership between Jansen and Muthusamy proved crucial in helping South Africa achieve a commanding unit.
