JANSEN HURTS INDIA AGAIN, SOUTH AFRICA SENSE VICTORY

The Proteas take an overall lead of 314 at the end of Day 3

Marco Jansen continued to torment India in the second and final Test in Guwahati as the lanky quick claimed 6-48 to help South Africa grab a potentially decisive first-innings lead of 288 on day three on Monday.

A day after smashing a career-best 93 in South Africa's first-innings total of 489, Jansen helped dismantle India for 201 at the first ever Test at Barsapara Cricket Stadium.

Aiden Markram produced a catching masterclass with five of them, including a one-handed stunner to remove Nitish Kumar Reddy.

South Africa, pushing for a 2-0 series sweep, did not enforce the follow-on and finished the day on 26 for no loss and an overall lead of 314.

Ryan Rickelton (13) and Markram (12) will return on Tuesday hoping to bat India out of the match.

Earlier, India resumed on nine for no loss on a wicket described as a "road" by spinner Kuldeep Yadav because of its lack of assistance for the bowlers.

KL Rahul (22) looked compact in defence while his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) was more fluent, often employing the sweep shot to counter the spinners.

Keshav Maharaj broke the 65-run opening stand an hour into play when Rahul lunged forward to defend a ball but was done for by the extra bounce. The ball hit the shoulder of his bat before nestling into Markram's hands at slip.

Jaiswal took two off Simon Harmer's bowling to bring up the first fifty by an India batter in the series but his knock did not last much longer.

The left-hander was surprised by the slowness of the track and spooned a Harmer delivery towards backward point where it would have landed short of most players but not the 2.06m tall Jansen, who dived forward to pouch the ball.

Harmer claimed a second victim when Sai Sudharsan pulled the ball to Rickelton at mid-wicket.

Jansen then hit India with a bouncer barrage that paid off handsomely on an otherwise docile track and left the hosts reeling at 122-7.

A 72-run stand between Washington Sundar (48) and Kuldeep proved the wicket was far from unplayable but the hosts were let down by their frontline batters. Number nine Kuldeep faced 134 balls, the most by any Indian batter, for his 19.

- Reuters

SPORTS MINISTER URGES SOUTH AFRICA TO BOYCOTT AFGHANISTAN MATCH

Champions Trophy cricket match between Pakistan and South Africa at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England, Monday, June 10, 2013.
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Copyright © africanews
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

South Africa's sports minister has joined public calls for the Proteas to boycott the Champions Trophy game against Afghanistan next month and criticised the International Cricket Council for not upholding its own rules.

Gayton McKenzie said on Thursday he felt “morally bound to support” a match boycott because the Taliban government has banned women's sports and disbanded the national women's cricket team.

"It is not for me as the sports minister to make the final decision on whether South Africa should honour cricketing fixtures against Afghanistan. If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen,” McKenzie said in a statement.

“As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world."

The Proteas are scheduled to play Afghanistan on Feb. 21 in a group match in Karachi, Pakistan.

England was also urged to forfeit its match against Afghanistan on Feb. 26 by more than 160 U.K. politicians on Monday.

McKenzie believed the ICC was also being hypocritical for not upholding its own mandates that member nations develop men's and women's cricket.

McKenzie noted Sri Lanka Cricket was suspended by the ICC from November 2023 to January 2024 for government interference.

“This does not happen in the case of Afghanistan, suggesting that political interference in the administration of sport is being tolerated there,” McKenzie said.

"Cricket South Africa, the federations of other countries and the ICC will have to think carefully about the message the sport of cricket wishes to send the world, and especially the women in sports.

“I hope that the consciences of all those involved in cricket, including the supporters, players and administrators, will take a firm stand in solidarity with the women of Afghanistan.”

- Rédaction Africanews with AP

PROTEAS COACH UNAPOLOGETIC ABOUT 'EASY' ROUTE TO TEST FINAL

Marco Jansen celebrates hitting the four that gave South Africa

Proteas coach Shukri Conrad brushed off criticism about the format of the World Test Championship after his team qualified for the final.

South African coach Shukri Conrad predictably brushed off criticism about the uneven scheduling of the World Test Championship after his team qualified for the final.

South Africa beat Pakistan in a dramatic two-wicket win in Centurion on Sunday to earn their sixth successive Test win.

On the average points system used for the championship, the South Africans are guaranteed a place in the final next June, even if they lose their last match, the second Test against Pakistan starting in Cape Town on Friday.

‘EASY DRAW’

“People abroad will be shouting that we had an easy draw. Well, I’m not going to apologise for that. We’re just thrilled that we can be at Lord’s next year,” Conrad said after the victory against Pakistan.

Australia’s win against India in Melbourne on Monday put them in pole position to join South Africa at Lord’s, although they still have to play a fifth Test against India and two matches away against Sri Lanka.

South Africa’s path to the final illustrated the imbalance in the quantity and quality of the fixtures for the nine teams contesting the World Test Championship (WTC), a fact highlighted by former England captain Michael Vaughan, who called for a revamp of the format.

“At the moment every team plays a wildly different number of games and that just does not create a balanced outcome or totally fair league table,” Vaughan wrote in a column for British daily The Telegraph.

South Africa’s programme consisted of just 12 matches, the joint lowest number together with Bangladesh.

England played 22 Tests and Australia and India, the other members of cricket’s ‘big three’, had 19 fixtures each.

South Africa had six series, all of only two matches. They shared a series against India 1-1 but did not play against Australia or England.

Australia, India and England, by contrast, played each other in a five-match ‘marquee’ series.

With no team dominating, they all shed points, affecting their average points standings.

After sharing the honours against India, South Africa effectively forfeited a series in New Zealand because their governing body prioritised a Twenty20 tournament.

Conrad could not select any players contracted by the T20 franchises, which ruled out most of his first-choice players.

Since then, though, South Africa have won away series in the West Indies and Bangladesh and beaten Sri Lanka at home before scraping home against Pakistan.

Conrad admitted that his team were far from their best at Centurion, needing an unbeaten ninth wicket stand of 51 between Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada to secure the win.

“The WTC weighs on you, you really want to get to the final, but we need to be a lot more resilient and clinical. We saw what pressure did to some of our players but they will grow enormously from the experience.

“We are so much better than we showed in this match but we want this team to never know when they are beaten and we want the opposition to know that too,” said Conrad.

- Garrin Lambley