South Africa pulled off a memorable victory in Kolkata on Sunday, defeating India by 30 runs in the first of the two Tests in the series. The victory not only gave the visitors a 1-0 lead, but also sent ripples across the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 in 2027. Temba bavuma’s men, who came into the match sitting in the 5th place jumped straight to 2nd with a healthy win percentage of 66.67. India, on the other hand, slipped down from 3rd to 4th with their percentage going down to 54.16, after a disappointing batting collapse in the fourth innings.
The Test match, at the hallowed ground of Eden Gardens, witnessed a riveting low scoring contest over 3 days. India, who had a modest target of 124 to score, were bowled out for only 104. The absence of captain Shubman Gill who did not bat in the match due to a spasm of the neck suffered on the morning of day two hurt the hosts not only tactically but also psychologically. Without his head at the top, India crumbled under the pressure, incapable of withstanding the relentless probing by South Africa’s discipline bowling unit.
The architect of India’s downfall was an off-spinner Simon Harmer, who picked four wickets and consistently had the bat for his accuracy and flight. He was well supported by the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj, who chipped in with two crucial scalps. Marco Jansen, the towering left-arm seamer, gave South Africa the best possible start by dismissing both Indian openers at the beginning of this innings. Washington Sundar attempted to put up a fightback with a well-crafted 31 and Axar Patel contributed 26 but the protest fizzled out very soon after the duo was dismissed. Ravindra Jadeja accounted for 18 and debutant Dhruv Jurel hung around for 13 but the count was far from what India required.
Earlier in the game, South Africa scored 159 runs in their first innings after choosing to bat while India had countered them with 189, gaining a 30 run lead. On a difficult surface that only got more so as the match went on, the visitors have shown grit and resilience in the second innings of the match, posting 153 runs and setting India a target that turned out to be much more difficult than it looked on paper. The Indian bowlers had done their job which was keeping the target under 125 but the batters were unable to back it up when it mattered the most.
This result represents a major early change in the World Test Championship cycle. With Australia leading the table, South Africa now take the number two spot with Sri Lanka sitting at number three, pushing India into the fourth spot. The second and final Test of the series is now going to be a must-win game for the home side to be played on November 22 in Guwahati. India will hope for a better showing with the bat and possible return of skipper Gill to level the series. South Africa, meanwhile, will be looking to round out the series with another total performance and come home with a historic away series win in their bag.
