Former Indian captain Anil Kumble wants Yashasvi Jaiswal to negotiate the first 45 minutes of the third day’s play against South Africa and see off Marco Jansen’s spell. Kumble reckons the left-handed Indian opener can take the game away from South Africa if he gets through the first hour’s play.

Jaiswal doesn’t have a great record against South Africa as he has scored 69 runs in four Test matches at an average of 11.50. Furthermore, the southpaw was dismissed twice by Marco Jansen in the opening Test at Kolkata.

“Yashasvi will have a role, but not necessarily right at the start. He needs to settle in, get used to the conditions, and adjust to the pace of the pitch. It’ll be on the slower side, not as bouncy or uneven as Kolkata—so the ball should come on nicely. Marco Jansen will get extra bounce because of his height—we saw that with KL Rahul, who was hit on the glove first ball,” Kumble said on JioStar.

“If Yashasvi can get through the first 30–45 minutes and negotiate Jansen’s early spell, we’ll see the dominant version of Jaiswal we know. He’ll certainly look to take on the spinners, especially the two left-arm options,” he added.

The legendary spinner added that the Guwahati pitch will be good to bat on the third day’s play and backed India to get a big score after conceding 489 runs in the first innings.

“I certainly expect a little more wear and tear, and I’m sure the spinners will come into play tomorrow. That said, it will still be a good surface to bat on—runs won’t be hard to come by,” Kumble said.

“The South African batters showed today that you can play your shots, and Marco Jansen proved that by taking the aggressive route. For India, this is a must-win Test. They’ve had six tough sessions, and they’ll be thinking about how they can bat through the next two days. If India can control the third and fourth day, they’ll put themselves in a position to think about the second innings,” he added.

India will resume their innings at 9-0 on Monday.