The Indian batting order faltered badly on the third day of the second test. South Africa Out of favor batsman in Guwahati Karun Nair Posted a mysterious message on social media which immediately sent the cricket world into shock. The timing of the post has been widely interpreted as a subtle but powerful expression of the 33-year-old’s frustration at being consistently left out of the national team, despite poor form in domestic cricket.
Karun Nair’s mysterious message amid India’s batting collapse
The controversy stemmed from India’s disappointing performance in response to South Africa’s strong reply of 489 runs in the first innings. After a respectable start, the Indian middle order crumbled and fell from 95/2 to 122/7, before eventually being bowled out for 201. The order of dismissal, such as the characteristics of the players Sai Sudarshan (15), Dhruv Jurel (0), and Rishabh Pant (7), highlights a serious weakness in India’s batting unit on home soil.
It is against this backdrop of the Maidan disaster that Nair posted a cryptic message on X (formerly Twitter): “Few situations give a feeling you know by heart – and the silence of not being out there adds its own sting.”
Some situations bring a feeling you know by heart – and the silence of not being out there adds its own sting.
– Karun Nair (@karun126) 24 November 2025
The post immediately went viral, deeply affecting fans who have long campaigned for the inclusion of the only other Indian Test triple-century besides this one. Virender Sehwag,
This conversation increased further when former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin Responded to Nair’s tweet with a brief but full-bodied reply: “Addei [hey man] Followed by a laughing emoji.”
– Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) 24 November 2025
South Africa in a strong position after Marco Johnson’s brilliant bowling.
The third day was entirely in the name of South Africa, who strengthened their hold on the Test match. Resuming their first innings at 9/0, India’s openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal And KL RahulMade a steady start with a partnership of 65 runs. However, the moment Rahul fell Keshav MaharajThe innings suffered a huge collapse.
After this the left arm fast bowler destroyed the middle order. marco jansonJoe was destructive, taking 6 wickets for 48 runs. India lost four wickets for just seven runs, falling from a steady score of 95/1 to 102/4 by the tea break. This also included the wickets of Sai Sudarshan (15), Dhruv Jurel (0), and a quick shot of the stand-in captain Rishabh Pant (7).
India’s only notable resistance came from a 72-run partnership between the two washington beautiful (48) and -Kuldeep Yadav (19), who demonstrated top-order reduction application. However, their defiance delayed the inevitable, and India were eventually bowled out for only 201 runs, having conceded a huge lead of 288 runs in the first innings. South Africa extended their dominance by choosing not to enforce follow-on, ending the day at 26/0, taking their overall lead to a challenging 314 runs.
