It’s fascinating how the two-match Test series between India and South Africa, which begins here on Friday, represents the toughest test each team has had in recent times.
Shubman Gill & Co. may have drawn the away series in England 2-2 and blanked the West Indies 2-0 at home last month, but the scars from last year’s 3-0 thrashing at the hands of New Zealand haven’t fully gone away. Every step it takes and every move it makes will be scrutinised, like how every line that a celebrated novelist writes is parsed for content.
Tough challenge
Temba Bavuma’s men, on the other hand, have their newly acquired status of the World Test Champions to live up to. They overcame Australia in the final in emphatic fashion, but beating India in India is a feat that has proved beyond most.
India’s chief coach Gautam Gambhir has a word with Kuldip Yadav and Axar Patel during the practice session ahead of the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
K.R. DEEPAK
The Proteas, in fact, have lost six of their previous seven Tests in India, the exception being the rain-hit affair in Bengaluru in November 2015 which ended in a draw.
It is perhaps fitting that a series oozing so much context and meaning will have its first roll of the dice at the Eden Gardens, the grandest of the sub-continent’s Test centres, both in name and vibe. The celebrated venue will be hosting its first five-day international since the pink-ball extravaganza in November 2019.
South Africa comes into the contest on the back of a creditable 1-1 draw in spin-heavy Pakistan. It has a capable bowling attack — at least on paper — to challenge India.
Aside from Keshav Maharaj, among the foremost finger-spinners in the world, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen are first-rate pacers who may find the Eastern metropolis’ early winter conditions helpful.
Important roles
In fairness, Kolkata is no paradise for the faster bowlers. But it has been hospitable in the past, and can be compared to a fiction-writer’s muse, giving not a lot but just about enough to help script a gripping story. With India hinting at moving away from the raging turners it has tended to produce in recent years, both speedsters and tweakers are expected to play important roles.
South African captain Temba Bavuma inspecting the pitch during the practice session ahead of the first Test against South Africa, in Kolkata on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
K.R. DEEPAK
The home outfit too has the personnel to cover all bases. Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah are likely to lead the attack, and in the spin department, there is an embarrassment of riches with Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel in the mix.
Following Rishabh Pant’s comeback, the Indian batting has regained its complete strength. And with the in-form Dhruv Jurel set to feature as a specialist batter, there will be a steely veneer. Likewise for South Africa, the re-entry of leader Bavuma into the XI after a two-month injury layoff will act as a significant reinforcement.
Inflection point
In a sense, the match can be an inflection point for Bavuma. The symbolism of the Rainbow Nation’s first Black African captain leading his side out at the same ground where post-Apartheid South Africa returned to international cricket in 1991 after a 21-year hiatus is hard to miss.
India’s vice-captain Rishabh Pant shares a lighter moment with Axar Patel during the practice session ahead of the first Test against South Africa, in Kolkata on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
K.R. DEEPAK
It was also at the same ground that Bavuma & Co. agonisingly lost the 2023 World Cup semifinal to Australia, with the ailing skipper making a four-ball duck and copping much criticism. A rousing performance can help life come full circle.
The teams (from): India: Shubman Gill (Capt.), Yashasvi Jaiswal, K.L. Rahul, B. Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Kuldeep Yadav.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (Capt.), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickleton (wk), Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne (wk)
Match starts at 9.30 a.m. IST.
Published – November 13, 2025 06:57 pm IST
