Muthusamy frustrates Pant and co with maiden Test century; joins Klusener and de Kock

Senuran Muthusamy scores hundred against India [Source: AFP]

South Africa all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy made the most of his chance at the crease and scored his first ever Test century against India in the second Test match in Guwahati. Walking in to bat at number 7, Muthusamy played a crucial role on Day 2 and slowly built his innings before reaching the landmark.

The moment came during the second session of the day. After the tea break, South Africa continued to bat confidently and pile pressure on India. 

Muthusamy powers SA with debut Test ton

Muthusamy, who had been unbeaten on 76 before the break, continued with the same patience and determination and finally completed his century off 192 deliveries by taking a double off Mohammed Siraj in the 135th over of South Africa’s first innings

With this hundred, Muthusamy entered the record books, joining two legendary South African players, Quinton de Kock and Lance Klusener, who are the only other South Africans to score centuries against India while batting at number 7 or lower.

South Africa vs India: Centuries Batting at No 7 or Lower

Notably, this milestone also highlighted another rare achievement: in the last 13 years, only once has a visiting team had two batters score more than 50 runs from number 7 or lower in a Test match in India. That happened in 2016 when England’s Liam Dawson (66) and Adil Rashid (60)* did it in Chennai. 

Now, South Africa have repeated the feat for the first time ever against India, with Muthusamy scoring his century and Marco Jansen reaching his fifty.

Meanwhile, the visitors have built a strong total and piled pressure on India, standing at 428 for 7 after 137 overs, with the partnership between Muthusamy and Jansen continuing to frustrate the Indian bowlers.

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