India faced South Africa in the first Test of the ongoing two-match series at Eden Gardens in Kolkata but suffered a shocking defeat by 30 runs inside three days. The 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) winners posted a target of 124 runs for India to chase down in the fourth innings of the match, but India could only manage to score 93 runs in 35 overs on Sunday, November 16.
India captain Shubman Gill didn’t come out to bat in the second innings due to a neck injury that he suffered during the second day’s play.
The first Test, which concluded inside three days at Eden Gardens, is the first red-ball match in India where neither team managed to touch the total of 200 in either of their innings while being bowled on each occasion.
In the 148-year-old
history of Test cricket there are only 12 instances where neither team managed to touch the total of 200 in either of their innings while being bowled on each occasion. The last such instance came in Dhaka in 1959, while this is the first such instance in India.
The first-ever Test match in India was played in Mumbai from December 15 to 18 in 1933 between India and England, and in that match, CK Nayudu-led Team India went down by 9 wickets against the Douglas Jardine-led English team.
Bavuma scored 56
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss in the series opener and opted to bat first, but his decision backfired, and the visitors got all out for just 159 runs in the first innings. Jasprit Bumrah picked up five wickets for the hosts in his quota of 14 overs. Indian players also failed to do much with the bat in their first innings and were all out for 189 runs in 62.2 overs, with KL Rahul finishing as top scorer (39 runs from 119 balls).
In their second innings, South Africa posted a total of 153 runs in 54 overs. Captain Bavuma remained unbeaten on 56 runs, but other batters failed to do much. India were set the target of 124 runs to chase down and go 1-0 up, but the hosts suffered a shocking batting collapse and got all out for 93 runs in 35 overs.
