Top 3 Marco Jansen Bowling Performance In Tests

image-lqnj8j2yMarco Jansen in action against India in January 2022 (x.com)

Marco Jansen, the prodigious South African speed merchant, burst onto the esteemed stage of Test cricket in December 2021, with a high-profile five-day bout against India at Centurion. Since his debut, he has seamlessly woven himself into the rich tapestry of South African cricket, dazzling spectators and experts alike with his raw talent and unyielding spirit.

Standing at an imposing 6’7 feet tall, Jansen engages his towering stature as a formidable weapon, generating searing pace off the pitch that often leaves opposition batters flummoxed. With his ability of extracting sharp bounce and movement, the broad-shouldered Proteas paceman continues to challenge even the most seasoned adversaries all over the world. 

Apart from unnerving his opponents with sheer pace, Jansen is also a firm believer of employing verbal tactics, thus creating an aura of intimidation on the field with his presence.

Celebrating Jansen’s career, here at OneCricket, we take a look at his top three bowling performances in Test cricket to date, with each of them serving a mere demonstration of his burgeoning talent and the promise of an illustrious future for South Africa.


Top 3 Marco Jansen Bowling Performance in Test Cricket:

1. 7-91 vs India, Cape Town, January 2022

image-lqnj9zk1Marco Jansen in Cape Town in January 2022 (x.com)

Turning up for South Africa in their series-decider against India at Cape Town in January 2022, Marco Jansen demolished the visitor’s middle-order on Day 1 itself by nicking off dangermen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin. The cricketer also trapped Rishabh Pant with extra bounce to fold up India’s first innings at 223, with his figures of 3-55 from 18 overs serving as the second-best bowling performance of the crucial day after pace mate Kagiso Rabada’s four-fer.

The left-arm quick hustled Pujara once again in the second innings after dismissing India’s in-form opener KL Rahul with the new-ball. In one of his return spells later in the day, Jansen extinguished India’s tail by getting Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in quick succession to tally four wickets in the innings, thus extending his match haul to 7-91 from combined 37.3 overs.

His twin demolishing acts with the ball paved way for a famous South African victory, helping them seal the series in the decider after being 0-1 down to India.

2. 7-98 vs India, Johannesburg, January 2022

image-lqnjb37mMarco Jansen in a heated exchange with Jasprit Bumrah (x.com)

A week after making his Test debut against India, Marco Jansen went up against the same opponents, this time at the iconic Wanderers Stadium in a must-win game for South Africa in the context of their three-match rubber.

After unleashing glimpses of his brilliance at Centurion, the Proteas pace firebrand wrecked India’s famed batting line-up by snapping up key wickets of both in-form openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, and by ensnaring their middle-order stalwarts Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin in one of his return spells on Day 1. His hostile opening day performance of 4-31 marked his second successive four-fer, and also his Test best bowling figures at the time.

As it turned out, Jansen was far from over in the match as he tallied three more Indian victims in the second innings, including that of opening batsman Rahul for the second time in succession to finish with 3-67 from 17 overs.

By the end of it all, the left-arm speedster had match figures of 7-98 to boast about, allowing South Africa to bring the series to levelling terms with their run-chase masterclass on Day 4.

3. 7-161 vs New Zealand, Christchurch, February 2022

image-lqnjca1qMarco Jansen celebrating a NZ wicket with teammates (x.com)

Taking a trip to New Zealand in February 2022, South Africa crashed to an innings defeat in the opening Test of their two-match series. The visitors, under Dean Elgar, subsequently travelled to Christchurch for their must-win series-deciding Test at the Hagley Oval.

After South Africa amassed 364 upfront, Marco Jansen pocketed four New Zealand wickets, including that of Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls to keep the hosts down by 71 runs at the halfway stage of the game. The pace maverick also packed Tom Blundell, Colin de Grandhomme and Kyle Jamieson in the space of a single spell of the second innings to pulverize New Zealand in their faltering run-chase attempts on the final day of the match.

Jansen’s combined match haul of 7-161, coupled with valiant contributions from Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj helped South Africa conquer Christchurch by 198 runs to level the two-match series 1-1.