India, Nov. 24 -- A good pitch. The sun beaming down. The conditions were all there for India to shove the demons of Kolkata and put up resistance in Guwahati in the second Test against South Africa at the Barsapara Stadium after the visitors piled up 489 runs on the board. However, the effort of the top and middle order left a lot to be desired as Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan and Ravindra Jadeja crumbled under pressure, leaving the hosts reeling and staring down the barrel.

The below-par performance of the batters for the third time in a row against South Africa has led to voices growing over the exclusion of Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, and Abhimanyu Easwaran from the squad, considering their reputation as good players of spi...