IND vs SA: Who said what after the first test in Kolkata

Simon Harmer won Player of the Match in the first IND vs SA test in Kolkata.

South Africa Cricket Team registered a spectacular victory in a low-scoring thriller against Indian Cricket Team in the first test on Sunday, November 15. The Temba Bavuma & Co. outplayed India by 30 runs in the clash, which took place at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata and concluded within three days.

On day 1, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bat first. However, the decision turned out to be a disaster as the visitors were bowled out for just 159 runs, with Jasprit Bumrah clinching a five-wicket haul for the hosts.

While no Indian batters could score a half-century, they managed to go past South Africa’s total in the first innings, piling 189 runs with KL Rahul’s 39 runs and earning a 30-run lead. Captain Shubman Gill sustained a neck injury while batting and had to leave the field midway. Later, he was ruled out of the clash, which came as a big blow to India.

Bowling out South Africa for 153 runs in the second innings with Ravindra Jadeja’s four-wicket haul, India looked in a stronger position with a 124-run target. Despite being one batter down, they were expected to win the encounter with ease. However, the visitors bounced back with a brilliant four-wicket haul by Simon Harmer and two wickets each by Marco Jansen and Keshav Majaraj, bowling out India for just 93 runs.

We should’ve been able to chase this score: Rishabh Pant after India’s defeat in the first test

Rishabh Pant, who captained the side after Gill got ruled out, said that India should have chased down the 124-run target, but they were unable to capitalise on their batting. He also reckoned that they would come back stronger in the next game.

“A game like this, you can’t dwell into it too much. We should’ve been able to chase this score. The pressure built on us in the second innings and we weren’t able to capitalise. Temba and Bosch had a brilliant partnership and that got them back into the game,” he said.

“There was help on the wicket, a score like 120 can be tricky, but we should be able to capitalise. Haven’t thought about it (improvements), the match has just finished, will come back strong,” Pant added.

Our bowlers got us back into the game: Temba Bavuma after South Africa’s victory in the Kolkata test

Bavuma (55*) scored a crucial half-century in the second innings, rescuing South Africa from a huge batting collapse and helping to set a 124-run target. During the post-match presentation, he gave the credit for the victory to the bowlers, saying that they brought the team back into the game.

“Very exciting. you want to be a part of those types of games and obviously be on the right side of the result. I think we tried to hold our ground as much as we could. We knew it was going to be tough with the bat, it was tough for us, but we needed to exploit what was there. I think we guys did that beautifully. Fortunately things have worked out quite well,” he said.

“Our bowlers got us back into the game, but that partnership with Bosch, I think a little bit with Marco as well, at the end of the day, just gave a little bit of impetus that we could play a little bit better this morning. It wasn’t as extreme, but we were able to get a partnership. We tried to stay in the game as much as we could. It’s not every time that you score 120-125 and you feel that that’s a winning score. It was just a case of staying in the game and to keep believing,” Bavuma added.

The boys as a unit bowled incredibly well: Simon Harmer after winning Player of the Match

Simon Harmer was adjudged Player of the Match for his four-wicket hauls across both innings, which helped the visitors outplay India’s batting unit. The right-arm off-spinner shared the credit with the rest of the bowlers, saying that they all gave an incredible performance as a unit.

“I felt today, it got a little bit flatter as it wasn’t exploding that much. Nice to contribute. To get here, to be in this position, to be behind the eight-ball again, to show the fight shows the belief we have. I am not a stats man, happy with the win. I knew I needed to bowl well. We felt like we were one partnership away from getting into the game,” he said.

“I needed to bowl in the right areas. I was quite lucky with Jurel’s wicket and also Jadeja’s and Pant’s. Incredibly happy to be standing in this position. Personal accolades are trumped by team’s success. If you get over-awed, you can get into a tricky situation. The boys as a unit bowled incredibly well,” Harmer added.

Meanwhile, South Africa have gained a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The second test will commence on November 22 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. Following the victory, South Africa have moved to the second spot in ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 points table with a win percentage (PCT) of 66.67, while India hold the fourth position with a PCT of 54.17.

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