IND vs SA

All kinds of questions will be asked, should be asked and will need to be answered. This was not just a defeat, it was a meek surrender by a team which looked befuddled and gave up in its own backyard. A backyard where losing even a single test was considered to be a huge deal but out of the last 7 home test matches now, India have lost 5. Too many all-rounders? Too few test specialists? Too much chopping and changing around with the batting order and the individuals? Far less weightage on the domestic red-ball performances?

On a dodgy pitch in Kolkata which raised all eyebrows, the test match finished inside 3 days. But come Guwahati, a fresh venue welcomed the teams with a true pitch and the match went into the fifth day. The result has once more been India being outplayed by the opponents.

As much as this loss is huge for India, it is as big for South Africa who have now firmly established that they are the world champions for a reason. Harmer's 17 wickets at an average of 8.94, Jansen's all-round heroics with 12 wickets and 106 runs, Muthusamy's brilliant hundred making a comeback which turned out to be the only ton of the series, Bavuma's brilliance with the bat in Kolkata and his leadership throughout the series and lest we forget Stubbs is the highest-scorer of the series with 163 runs in two test matches. Remember, South Africa were missing the services of their bowling spearhead Kagiso Rabada. Yes, India were missing their skipper Shubman Gill for the majority of the series as well but the rest of the team was simply not good enough or even near to it.

India will not play any more tests before the second half of 2026 but this humiliating defeat will certainly not die down soon. The white-ball series will start after a gap of three days with the first ODI scheduled in Ranchi on Sunday (Nov 30) with the stalwarts Rohit and Kohli returning and hogging all the headlines rightfully. However, this will need some deep dissection and perhaps some more changes by the time India get to their next test match.

The bottomline remains that India have been humbled in whites by a visiting side yet again and the alarm bells need to go off right about now. One thing is for sure, this is not the last you're going to hear of this debacle. Time for us to sign off now, see you at the ODIs. This is Sourabh Agrawal taking your leave on behalf of Bidipto Datta and the entire team, cheers!

Here is a look at the latest status of the WTC points table where South Africa are now firmly on the second spot and India's hopes of making it to the final dwindling away with every result 👇

Bavuma collects the trophy from BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and up it goes in his hands with his entire team alongside him behind the WINNERS board. Yes, they are the true winners. A historic occasion in South African cricket, this will go down in the history books. The coaching staff joins in now as well, they are the real unsung heroes for this champion side. Safe to assume that the celebrations will go on for a long, long time.

Temba Bavuma (South Africa Captain): "It is massive, For me personally, being out of the game for a couple of games and being at home. These are the types of things you are working towards and dreaming of. It is not often you come to India and walk away with a 2-0 victory. For a few of us, it is even more special because we have been on the other side as well. It answers a few questions as well. It is a big shift in the mindset in terms of what we want to do when we are out there. We want to play what is in front of us. Our preparation is something we have really upped. The biggest thing in terms of a unit is guys wanting to contribute. There is a strong sense in each other that anyone on their day can do it for the team. Even the guys who come off the bench like Muthusamy are ready to make match-winning play. As a team we are in a strong space, this performance will only grow our confidence even more. (On the transparency and clarity within the group) That is the big thing in any team. Everyone wants to know where they stand and what is expected of them. As a captain, it is hard to take the ball of the bowler's hands sometimes and even with the bat everyone is contributing. We don't have guys that score big hundreds or 150s but we have four-five guys that score 60s or 70s. The team is in a good space. On Simon, he has the experience of playing in India last in 2015. He has a wealth of experience and complements Keshav really well with his height, lot more guile. Those two were the guys that I struggled to take the ball out of their hands, I appreciate the competitiveness between both of them. Simon has been the main man for us this time, we are so used to Kesh doing it for us but with missing someone like KG (Rabada) who has been doing so well for us, we are in a very good space in terms of bowling."

Simon Harmer is the Player of the Series for his 17 wickets! Here's what he has to say: "Like I mentioned after the previous Test, coming back here after ten years has given me a completely different feeling. I’ll be leaving with some really fond memories. Our goal was to finish the job, and to walk away with a 2–0 series win is incredibly satisfying. When India were batting in their second innings, I was watching closely, once the ball got softer, there wasn’t a lot happening. The pitch had started to wear, and only the occasional delivery did something unpredictable. It was nice to contribute and even better to pick up wickets in India. In our second innings with the ball, the plan was simple: bowl long spells and keep hitting the right areas. Aiden took some brilliant catches, and Marco chipped in with a couple as well, those moments helped massively. When I switched ends, it genuinely felt like a left-hander’s wicket; things started to happen with the older ball. Credit to Temba for suggesting the change, it turned out to be a great call. Keshav’s record speaks for itself. He’s an exceptional bowler, the No. 1 spinner, and I’m more than happy to play the supporting role alongside him. Whenever opportunities come my way, I just try to grab them with both hands. There are still things I want to improve as a batter, it’s always about evolving and getting better. We have a few games back home now, and I won’t be playing for South Africa for a little while, but when the next chance comes, we’ll be ready to put our best foot forward again."

Marco Jansen is the Player of the Match for his 93 off 91 with the bat & 6/48, 1/23 with the ball: "Winning any test match is a nice feeling, winning a test series in India is very special. Very well done to all the boys, it was a tam effort. (on what was spoken) We just spoke about doing the simple things, basic things right and if we needed to change anything, change it. (On his batting) I just want to give all the credit to Shuks (head coach Shukri Conrad), he asked me to express myself. I was a little tense in the first test. (On the win) For me it just means everyone is working very hard. We know what we need and what we are doing. We always try to improve and see where we can get better. At the end of the day, we always play for each other and give our best."

AWARDS

Tony de Zorzi gets the Go The Distance award for his 102 meter six

Senuran Muthusamy has been awarded the Apne Liye Apno Ke Liye award

Tristan Stubbs fetches the Great Striker award

Rishabh Pant [India captain]: "It’s a disappointing result, and as a team we know we have to improve. Credit to South Africa, they simply played better cricket throughout the series. We’ll take the lessons from this, stay together as a group, and work on the areas where we fell short. South Africa really dominated, and it’s a reminder that you can’t take anything for granted in this game. There were key moments where we didn’t capitalise, and that’s something we need to focus on. Whether you’re playing at home or away, the game demands full commitment, and we couldn’t produce that consistently across the series. There were a few positives, small phases where we played well, but we need to build on those and be much better going forward.

MATCH SUMMARY

South Africa (489 & 260/5 dec) defeat India (201 & 140) by 408 runs and complete a clean sweep by a 2-0 margin

Marco Jansen (93 off 91, 6/48 & 1/23) | Senuran Muthusamy (109 off 206, 1/21) | Simon Harmer (3/64 & 6/37)
Ravindra Jadeja (2/94 & 4/62, 54 off 87)

Absolute jubilation in the South African camp, hugs all around. Head coach Shukri Conrad embraces the skipper Temba Bavuma, it is now 11 tests out of 12 won now for Bavuma as a captain and he stands tall undefeated.

If the WTC final was a watershed moment in the Protean cricket history, this series would rank no lesser. Whitewashing India in India is no mean feat, yes it has occurred twice in an year now but that doesn't take away from how tall this task is.

India have succumbed to their largest ever defeat in test cricket history, the margin of 408 runs is indictive of how big the gulf was between both these team. Flashbacks of October and November 2024 against NZ, India have been humbled yet again and this is not an aberration anymore. For the first time ever, India have been whitewashed twice at home within an year.

South Africa have not put a foot wrong since the time they won the toss on the first morning in Guwahati, or should I say Kolkata. Everything has fallen in place perfectly for them, they deserve huge credits for what they have achieved here.

You could say things were even-stevens at the end of Day 1 with South Africa at 246/6 or dare I say India were the happier side but things just slipped out of the hosts' hands from there on. South Africa's last 4 wickets added 243 in the first innings with a chanceless century from Senuran Muthusamy who was making a comeback in the side and a spectacular 91-ball 93 from the big Marco Jansen and that was when India lost the plot.

India were placed at a good position with the bat at 95/1 but then a dramatic collapse saw them lose the next 6 wickets for just 27 runs and India were found reeling at 122/7. Jansen was once again the star with the ball with a 6-fer as he bounced out the Indian lineup on the third day as India were bowled out for 201. South Africa chose not to enforce the follow-on and further pile on the agony.

In the third innings, many people thought South Africa delayed the declaration for a bit too long as they chose to pull the plug half an hour into the final session on Day 4, they set a target of 549, the highest-ever total India has ever been set in test cricket.

With only two results possible, India lost their openers for paltry scores on the fourth evening. More than 500 runs needed on the final day, it was always going to be a huge task for the Indian side with 8 wickets in hand to see out the day. But once again, a meek surrender is what they could offer as Harmer once again came to the fore with a 6-wicket haul and spun a web across India to seal the fate.

Jadeja scored a half-century in the second innings while Jaiswal scored one in the first innings but those innings were never going to be close enough to even pose a challenge to the South Africans who were clearly the superior side.

Aiden Markram: "It feels fantastic. It’s never easy to come to India and win a series. As a group, we always backed ourselves, and yes, we got a bit of luck along the way too. The big thing for us was not coming in with preconceived ideas, just playing good, solid cricket. There were plenty of challenges, but we tried to stay clear-headed and not let any doubts creep in. The boys showed tremendous character throughout. I didn’t even realise some of the numbers being talked about, all credit goes to our bowlers. They kept hitting the right areas and made things happen. Being able to vary the spin, use the rough, and hit those spots consistently was crucial in these conditions. It took patience and long spells, but it paid off. It was tough early on, looking at the pitch before the game, there was more grass than usual, and facing Siraj and Bumrah on that wasn’t easy. But we got through that phase. Then with the bat, we got a solid start; everyone contributed, got starts, and built from there.

12:34 PM local time and IST: The whole South African team has jumped on Jansen, these are absolute scenes! Bavuma cannot quite believe it, he has his hands on his head in utter disbelief. Well, there could not have been a better way to seal things for South Africa. They have thoroughly outperformed the Indians in their own backyard, there wasn't even any competition and this is as convincing as it can get away from home. Yes, world champions South Africa have clean swept India 2-0, first test series win on Indian soil after 2000 for the Proteas.

63.5 Keshav Maharaj to Mohammed Siraj, OUT! JANSEN PULLS OFF A SCREAMER! That is it! With that, South Africa whitewash India in India, a series win in India after 25 years! Floated on a length on the stumps, Siraj launches it straight down the ground. Jansen running back, kept his eyes on the ball and stuck his left hand out and plucks it out of thin air, my word.

63.2 Keshav Maharaj to Mohammed Siraj, APPEAL FOR STUMPING! On a length on fourth stump, turned away sharply. Siraj swings and misses. Verreynne quick to whip the bails off and thinks Siraj has his backfoot off the ground. Umpire goes upstairs to check this.

The foot is down, Siraj survives! NOT OUT comes on the bigscreen!