South Africa Triumphs Over India in First Test of Series

South Africa emerged victorious against India by 30 runs in the opening Test of a two-match series held on Sunday, marking their first win in India in 15 years. This victory places the World Test Champions ahead in the series, now leading 1-0. India, in pursuit of a target of 124 runs, was dismissed for just 93 runs in 35 overs, continuing their struggles against quality spin on home soil.

Temba Bavuma, the captain of South Africa, has now maintained an impressive unbeaten record in Test cricket. Since assuming the captaincy, he has led his team to 10 victories out of 11 Tests, with the lone remaining match resulting in a draw. His tenure also includes a win in the World Test Championship final against Australia.

In this Test match, Simon Harmer was the standout performer, claiming eight wickets and outshining India's spin attack on a pitch that was expected to favour Indian bowlers such as Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav. This defeat marks India’s fourth loss in their last six home Tests, a troubling trend that includes a 0-3 series defeat to New Zealand last year.

Following the match, stand-in captain Rishabh Pant expressed disappointment, stating, "We should have chased this down. The pressure kept on building in the second innings." Head coach Gautam Gambhir echoed these sentiments, emphasising that the batting group must find effective strategies to score runs. "It wasn’t an unplayable wicket. This is exactly the kind of wicket we were looking for. The curator was very supportive," Gambhir remarked.

During the Indian innings, Washington Sundar provided some resistance, scoring 31 runs off 92 balls, while Jadeja contributed 18 runs off 26 balls. However, the South African bowlers maintained their pressure, with Harmer dismissing Jadeja before Aiden Markram caught Sundar.

Dhruv Jurel faced a challenging debut, surviving an early dismissal review but ultimately fell while trying to play an ambitious one-handed pull shot. Pant managed only 2 runs off 13 balls before falling to Keshav Maharaj. Axar Patel added 26 runs off 17 balls, hitting two sixes and a four, but was dismissed soon after, leaving Jasprit Bumrah as the last man standing.

Earlier in the day, India’s spin plan faltered when Bavuma, who scored an unbeaten 55 runs, helped South Africa extend their overnight score of 93 for 7 to 153. His partnership with Corbin Bosch, who made 25 runs off 37 balls, increased the pressure on the Indian side.

Marco Jansen had a significant impact, reducing India to 10 for 2 by lunchtime, as Yashasvi Jaiswal was out for a duck and KL Rahul was dismissed for just 1 run after gloving a rising delivery.

Looking ahead, South Africa will travel to Guwahati for the final Test, where they have the opportunity to clinch the series against India.