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South Africa brought an end to a 15-year-long wait as they defeated India by 30 runs in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday to go 1-0 up in the two-match Test series. It was a historic win for the Proteas as they bagged their first Test victory on Indian soil after 15 years. They last won a Test match in India in February 2010.
South Africa rode on a gutsy half-century from skipper Temba Bavuma in the second innings to set up a tricky target of 124 runs for the hosts on a tacky pitch at the Eden Gardens. India, who were without their injured skipper Shubman Gill, got bowled out for 93 runs to fall short in the run chase.
While Bavuma shone with the bat, being the only batter to have crossed the 40-run mark in a single innings in the Test match, senior spinner Simon Harmer starred with the ball. Harmer was arguably the pick of the bowlers for the visitors with a four-wicket haul in India's both innings of the Test match.
India were chasing history at the Eden Gardens as they had to better their own record for the highest successful chase (117) in Tests at the iconic venue after being handed a target of 124 runs in their second innings on Day 3. They got off to a disastrous start as they lost openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) and KL Rahul (1) cheaply in quick succession in the first two overs.
Washington Sundar held one end strongly with a gritty knock of 31 runs, but he failed to find support from the other end as the visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The likes of Dhruv Jurel (13), Rishabh Pant (2) and Ravindra Jadeja (18) all failed to tackle the uneven bounce and the vicious turn on the dreadful pitch as India were eventually bowled out for 93 runs.
Axar Pate waged a lone battle towards the end with tail-enders as he produced a fiery cameo of 17-ball 26. However, just when it looked like the match might swing into the hosts' favour, Keshav Maharaj got Axar caught in the 35th over and removed Mohammed Siraj on a duck on the next ball to wrap up India's innings on 93.
India dearly missed skipper Gill, who was ruled out of the first Test on Sunday after suffering a neck strain while batting on Day 2, Saturday. Gill is reportedly admitted to a hospital in Kolkata and is undergoing treatment, with doubts over his participation in the 2nd Test between the two sides in Guwahati, starting next week.
As Test cricket returned to Kolkata, the talks surrounding the sluggish pitch overshadowed South Africa's historic victory. The pitch at the Eden Gardens deteriorated in no time and saw vicious turn along with uneven bounce across all three days as batters across both teams struggled to tackle the conditions.
As many as 26 wickets fell on the first two days of the Test match, before the game eventually finished inside two sessions on Day 3. South Africa were bundled out for a paltry 159 in the first innings, with Jasprit Bumrah bagging a fifer for India. India were expected to gain a healthy lead, but the hosts struggled to deal with the conditions at the Eden Gardens.
Rahul top-scored with a gritty 39 off 119 balls, while Sundar contributed with a gutsy 29 off 82 balls to help India post 189 runs on the board in their second innings, amassing a slender lead of 30 runs. South Africa once again got off to a horror start in their second innings and were reeling at 75/6 at one stage.
However, an unbeaten 55 from skipper Bavuma and Corbin Bosch's late cameo of 37-ball 25 helped the visitors post 153 runs on the board to set up a tricky target of 124 runs for India. India succumbed under pressure in the run chase as Harmer spun Proteas to a famous win with his 4-wicket haul.
India have now suffered four straight Test defeats against SENA nations at home. The hosts were clean-swept 3-0 at home by New Zealand last year. They returned to winning ways with a 2-0 series victory against the West Indies at home earlier this year, but succumbed to a defeat against South Africa on Sunday to lose 4 in a row against SENA countries.
