At the end of the second day's play at the Wanderers, India reached 85/2, establishing a 58-run lead in their second innings. Rahane and Pujara are currently managing the crease after South Africa's Duanne Olivier and Marco Jansen each took a wicket. This follows India's impressive bowling effort that bundled South Africa out for 229, highlighted by Shardul Thakur's remarkable 7/61.
With his 7/61, the man known as 'Lord Shardul' set a new benchmark as the most successful Indian bowler in South African history. Supporting him, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah each grabbed two wickets. Despite this, South Africa walked away from the first innings with a slight 27-run lead. The responsibility now falls on the Indian batsmen to deliver a powerhouse performance in the second innings to set a daunting target for the Proteas.
The match saw early promise for the hosts as Temba Bavuma and Keegan Petersen both reached fifty, putting South Africa in a commanding spot. However, a brilliant spell from Thakur dismantled their momentum and put India back in control. South Africa only managed to edge past India's total thanks to an aggressive 38-run stand for the eighth wicket by Keshav Maharaj and Marco Jansen, both of whom found the boundary three times as Jasprit Bumrah struggled with his precision.
The Indian captain, KL Rahul, had a short stay at the crease, falling early after edging a delivery from Jansen to Aiden Markram at second slip. Mayank Agarwal showed a bit more spark, batting with fluency before being trapped LBW by Olivier for 23. Since then, Pujara and Rahane have held the fort to prevent further collapses; Pujara ended the day on 35, while Rahane remained not out on 11.