South Africa Defeat India by 30 Runs in Dramatic Kolkata Test

South Africa Defeat India by 30 Runs in Dramatic Kolkata Test

1st Test India vs South Africa: South Africa beat India by 30 runs. South Africa takes a 1-0 lead in the series.

South Africa registered the lowest successful defence of a total at Eden Gardens. Spinner Simon Harmer claimed a match haul of eight wickets to lead South Africa to a thrilling 30-run win over India inside three days of a low-scoring opening Test on Sunday. Chasing 124 for victory on day three, India faltered in their chase to be bowled out for 93 in the second session at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

India crumbled under pressure on a heavily spin-friendly wicket, crashing out for 93 runs. India had also landed another blow after losing Test skipper Shubman Gill to a neck spasm before the day’s play. Led by Proteas captain Temba Bavuma’s solid 55 not out, South Africa bowled out on 153 runs in the second innings. Bavuma was the only batter to cross more than 40 runs in the entire Test as they won their first Test in India in 15 years.

India has now lost three Tests in the ongoing WTC cycle, following two losses in England earlier this year. Meanwhile, South Africa, who began their title defence in Pakistan last month, has now won two of their three matches thus far, their 66.67 PCT placing them second only to Australia, who have won all three Tests they have played this edition.

Earlier, on the morning of Day 3, South Africa started their innings from 93/7. South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma hit a defiant 55 not out in his team’s second innings total of 153. Bavuma played a defiant knock to keep South Africa in the hunt after they resumed on 93-7 on a tough pitch with inconsistent bounce. Bavuma’s 44-run eighth-wicket stand with overnight partner Corbin Bosch frustrated the Indian bowlers until pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah broke through.

Bumrah bowled Bosch for 25 before Bavuma reached his fifty in 122 balls, raising his bat to an applauding dressing room. Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj shattered Harmer’s stumps for seven and removed last man Keshav Maharaj for a duck in the space of four balls as Bavuma ran out of partners.

Brief scores:
South Africa: 159/10 & 153/10
India: 189/10 & 93/10

South Africa beats India by 30 runs

Player of the Match: Simon Harmer

Day 2

India began the second day still 122 runs behind South Africa, with nine wickets left in their first innings. But within just six dramatic hours, the match turned completely. India not only caught up but also put South Africa in deep trouble, reducing them to 63 for 7 in their second innings. A total of 15 wickets fell in the day. Shubman Gill had to leave the field because of a neck spasm. No one could score more than 39 runs, and the highest partnership was only 57. These were the lowest top scores in the first two innings of a Test in India since the Durban Test in 2010-11 between the same teams.

Everyone expected the pitch to behave like a normal Indian pitch good for batting for the first two days. But the surface started breaking on the first day itself. On the second day, batting became extremely difficult. Even the fast bowlers found a lot of help from the pitch, and together they took 11 out of the 26 wickets that fell.

The pitch seemed very different from India’s earlier claims that they wanted to play on more balanced surfaces after losing a series to New Zealand. Commentator Dinesh Karthik mentioned that the pitch wasn’t watered a day before the Test, which might explain its strange behaviour.

The standout performer of the day was Ravindra Jadeja. He scored 27 fairly comfortable runs before getting out lbw to Simon Harmer. Harmer also proved his growing reputation by taking 4 for 30. He helped restrict India’s lead to just 30 runs after South Africa were bowled out for 159 on the first day. But Jadeja made that small lead look big with an incredible spell of 13 overs, taking 4 wickets for just 29 runs. South Africa finished on 93 for 7.

At the start of the day, and even after the first hour when no wickets fell, it looked like India would take a big first-innings lead. KL Rahul and Washington Sundar added the highest partnership of the match. But once Harmer came on to bowl in the second hour, everything changed. He beat Washington’s bat twice and got him out quickly.

At 75 for 2, India were still 84 runs behind but in a comfortable position. Then Shubman Gill suffered a neck spasm right after hitting a four, and had to retire hurt.

Although Rahul, Pant, and Jadeja looked good individually, they all fell soon because the pitch kept offering dangerous turn and bounce. Rahul followed a sharply turning ball from Maharaj, Jadeja fell to natural variation, and Pant was beaten by extra bounce from Corbin Bosch. Maharaj was a little expensive, but Harmer and Marco Jansen did most of the damage. Jansen took 3 for 35 and kept South Africa alive. India lost their last four wickets for just 36 runs.

When India came out to bowl again, there was still half an hour left before tea, and it was obvious spin would dominate. Bumrah opened from the end with unpredictable bounce, but soon both ends had spinners. Kuldeep Yadav ended the session by dismissing Ryan Rickelton with a ball that didn’t turn, catching the batter off guard.

With Gill unavailable, Pant was captain and brought Jadeja into the attack immediately. On such pitches, the dangerous deliveries don’t always look threatening, but the constant movement unsettles batters. Aiden Markram checked his sweep shot because the ball slowed down, and was caught. Tony de Zorzi hit a reverse sweep first ball but the next ball bounced sharply and got him out. Wiaan Mulder tried to survive Jadeja but eventually edged a big-turning ball. Tristan Stubbs was troubled by Jadeja’s angles before losing his stumps to a ball that drifted in and spun away.

Kyle Verreynne was criticised for trying a slog-sweep against Axar Patel, but scoring was extremely hard. Jansen tried to attack and managed 13 runs before edging a sweep against Kuldeep.

Both teams fielded brilliantly. Rahul ended the day with a superb low catch off a deflection from Pant. Temba Bavuma fought well and reached 29 not out off 78 balls, but South Africa still needed a lot from him to stay in the match.

Day 1

South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first on a decent pitch at Eden Gardens. They got off to a flying start, reaching 57 runs without losing a wicket in just 10 overs. But India didn’t panic. Jasprit Bumrah, bowling tight lines from one end, gave away only 9 runs in his first five overs and then produced two magical deliveries. He bowled Ryan Rickelton with a ball that swung in and then moved away, and dismissed Aiden Markram with one that bounced sharply off the pitch. Suddenly, South Africa were 62 for 2, and the momentum had shifted.

India had gone in with six bowlers, moving Washington Sundar up to No. 3 to make space for Axar Patel. Early on, Siraj struggled with rhythm and Axar was expensive, but Bumrah’s control kept things steady. Kuldeep Yadav joined the party with some sharp turn and clever field placements. He got Temba Bavuma out with an edge to Dhruv Jurel, who kept his place in the team despite Rishabh Pant returning as wicketkeeper.

After lunch, South Africa’s middle order collapsed. Tony de Zorzi and Wiaan Mulder were dismissed quickly by Bumrah and Kuldeep. Mulder, who had reverse-swept Kuldeep for a boundary, tried the same shot again and was trapped lbw. De Zorzi was bowled by a ball that nipped in. With the ball starting to reverse, Siraj took over and got two wickets in one over—Kyle Verreynne lbw and Marco Jansen bowled.

Axar Patel returned for a second spell and found some turn. His low release and long arms created a tricky angle, and he trapped Corbin Bosch lbw just before tea. South Africa were in deep trouble, and their last hope, Tristan Stubbs, didn’t protect the tail. Bumrah came back and dismissed both Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj in one over, completing his five-wicket haul and joining BS Chandrasekhar in India’s top five for most five-fors. South Africa were bowled out for just 159.

India’s reply wasn’t easy either. Without Kagiso Rabada, who missed the match due to a rib injury, South Africa lacked bite. But Marco Jansen bowled well and got Yashasvi Jaiswal out with a sharp delivery. KL Rahul and Washington Sundar played cautiously in fading light. Maharaj and Harmer bowled tight spells, and a few puffs of dust from the pitch hinted that Bumrah’s five-for might be even more valuable as the match goes on.