South Africa Won the Guwahati Test: India has suffered another humiliating defeat at home. South Africa won the Guwahati Test by 408 runs and whitewashed India in the two-match Test series. South Africa won the Kolkata Test by 30 runs. South Africa had set a target of 549 runs. The world Test champions bundled out India for 140 runs in the second innings and won by 408 runs. This is India's biggest defeat overall in Tests and by run margin at home. Before this, Team India was defeated by Australia by 342 runs in Nagpur in 2004.
This is the second time in 13 months that India has been clean swept in a Test series at home. Previously, New Zealand defeated India 3-0 in a three-match Test series in October-November 2024. This defeat is also humiliating in terms of the World Test Championship. India's hopes will be dashed.
India Playing-11: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
South Africa Playing-11: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma(c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj.
In this match South Africa scored 489 runs in their first innings. In reply, India's first innings was reduced to 201 runs. South Africa, not enforcing the follow-on, batted in the second innings and declared at 260 for five. Adding the 288-run lead from the first innings, the total lead was 548 runs, setting India a target of 549 runs. By the end of the fourth day's play, India had lost the wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) and KL Rahul (6).
Today, Sai Sudarshan was dismissed for 14 runs, Kuldeep Yadav for five runs, Dhruv Jurel for two runs, and captain Rishabh Pant for 13 runs. Washington Sundar scored 16 runs. Jadeja scored his 28th Test half-century but was dismissed for 54 runs off 87 balls, including four fours and two sixes. Nitish Reddy and Siraj remained unbeaten. For South Africa, Simon Harmer took six wickets. Keshav Maharaj got two, while Marco Jansen and Muthusamy got one wicket each.
Player of the Match: Marco Jansen (SA) 6/48 & 93 & 1/23.
“It’s massive. For me personally, been out of the game for a couple of months with injury. Not every day you can come to India and walk away with a 2-0 series win. What’s special is we had dark days as a group and it’s a credit to them. There’s a big shift in our mindsets in terms of what we want to do. I think our preparation is something – guys go out there looking to contribute. Anyone on their day can do it for their team – that’s the belief. As a team we are really in a good space. The way we performed here will grow our confidence even more. That’s a big thing, everyone wants to know where they stand. Guys want to be the man for their team. Everyone has contributed. We don’t see big 100s but we have got 4-5 guys contributing,”- South African captain Temba Bavuma.
Player of the Series: Simon Harmer (SA)
"It is for the BCCI to decide. I have said this before as well, Indian cricket is important, I am not important. I am the same guy who got results in England, won the Champions Trophy, and the Asia Cup. This is a team which is learning," Head coach Gautam Gambhir said in the press conference after India's 408-run defeat in Guwahati.
At the start of the press conference, Gambhir said that every single person in the Indian team should be held responsible for the 0-2 series defeat, but the blame starts with him. "Blame lies with everyone, starts with me," he said in the presser.
"We need to play better. From 95/1 to 122/7 is not acceptable. You don't blame any individual or any particular shot. Blame lies with everyone. I never blamed individuals and won't do it going forward," he added.
India's Biggest Test Defeats
408 runs vs. SA (Guwahati, 2025)*
342 runs vs. AUS (Nagpur, 2004)
341 runs vs. PAK (Karachi, 2006)
337 runs vs. AUS (Melbourne, 2007)
333 runs vs. AUS (Pune, 2017).
