South Africa's Proteas face India in the first of two Test matches starting Friday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Captain Temba Bavuma views the tour as an opportunity despite the subcontinent's spin-friendly conditions. The series tests Bavuma's unbeaten record as skipper against a formidable home side.
The South African cricket team, the Proteas, heads into a two-match Test series against India, beginning on Friday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This marks phase two of their World Test Championship defense following their title win earlier this year. India boasts a strong home record, with 122 Test victories, placing them third behind Australia (262) and England (241). Their last home series defeat was to England in 2012, though New Zealand achieved a surprising 3-0 win last year.
Captain Temba Bavuma, who has nine wins and one draw in 10 Tests as skipper—including the World Test Championship final against Australia—recently received the “Exemplary Leadership Award” at the Ceat Cricket Awards 2025 in India. There, he sought tips from New Zealand's Kane Williamson, joking, “I met up with Kane at an awards evening here in India a couple of months ago. I tried to ask him for some pointers. He wasn’t too open about it all. But he did say … to make sure that you win the toss, so I’ll be practising my coin tossing skills.”
Bavuma is recovering from a calf injury sustained two months ago against England. He played his first competitive match since then for South Africa A against India A in Bengaluru last week, scoring 59 off 101 balls in the second innings to help secure a five-wicket win. “It’s always nice to get a look at their bowlers,” Bavuma said post-match. Eight of South Africa's 15 players—Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, and Corbin Bosch—have no prior Test experience in India. The Proteas' last win there was in 2000, 25 years ago.
India's captain Shubman Gill expects the Kolkata pitch to offer early help to fast bowlers but favor spinners later. “Whenever we play in India, more or less the spinners decide the game,” Gill noted. India's spin attack includes Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav, while South Africa relies on Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, with Senuran Muthusamy in reserve.
Bavuma emphasized playing good cricket: “You just have to play good cricket. It’s easy, but it’s hard when you come to India.” He sees the tour as an opportunity, noting potential swing in Kolkata and the need for an extra spinner alongside the best six batters. The first ball is at 06:00am South African time Friday.