Cricket: Simon Harmer leads South Africa to first Test win in India in 15 years
India collapse in second innings of low-scoring first Test
Indian cricket fans were left both stunned and frustrated at Eden Gardens on Sunday afternoon when they saw their national team collapse to an unexpected 30-run defeat against South Africa in the first of their two-Test series.
The result means that South Africa cannot lose this series regardless of the outcome at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium next week. Be sure to check out our cricket predictions for all the insights ahead of the second Test on November 22.
The Men in Blue looked to be in control of the match after dismissing the visitors for just 159 runs in the first innings. However, it quickly became clear that it was going to be a tough slog after the Proteas responded by bowling out the home team for 189 in their first knock.
No player from either team managed to record a half-century in the first half of the clash, but Jasprit Bumrah (5/27) was back among the wickets after a disappointing series Down Under, while Shubman Gill retired hurt on Day 2 and played no further part in the match.
Despite Temba Bavuma scoring the only fifty of the match in the second innings, South Africa failed to improve on their first innings total as they were bundled out for 153, setting the home side a target of only 123.
However, Marco Jansen gave his side an early boost by knocking over Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul for just a single run between them before Simon Harmer ripped through the Indian middle-order to end the match with eight wickets for just 51 runs.
Axar Patel tried to muster a late comeback for his side but fell to Keshav Maharaj, who then wrapped up the victory by dismissing Mohammed Siraj for a golden duck. The result marked South Africa’s first win in India in 15 years.
2025-27 World Test Championship table after South Africa’s victory
South Africa’s victory in Kolkata has had a notable impact on the 2025-27 World Test Championship table, with the Proteas moving up to second place, now with 66.67 percentage points.
Australia are still top of the standings with a perfect three wins from three matches, while Sri Lanka have now slipped to third place, and India remain in fourth with a 54.17 percentage points, just 4.17 more than Pakistan in fifth.
2025-27 WTC points table
| Pos | Teams | M | W | L | T | D | PT | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 100.00 |
| 2 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 66.67 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 4 | India | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 52 | 54.17 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 50.00 |
| 6 | England | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 43.33 |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 16.67 |
| 8 | West Indies | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 9 | New Zealand | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
