Last Updated:
South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma leads a historic Test victory over India at Eden Gardens, with coach Shukri Conrad praising team spirit.
Temba Bavuma led South Africa to a 30-run win against India (Picture credit: AP)
After going seven down for 93 on day 2, South Africa’s only beacon of hope in Kolkata was their World Champion captain, Temba Bavuma. Being addressed as a ‘bauna’ (a dwarf) by ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah may not have affected him, but his heroics on Sunday dwarfed India’s confidence.
The visitors, who looked in control till Saturday evening, were robbed by the visitors from the rainbow nation. Bavuma’s spirited South Africa registered a stunning 30-run win, a victory after 15 years, wrapping the first Tests at Eden Gardens in 8 sessions.
The onlookers may blame the pitch and the demons in it, which came out much earlier than predicted, on the second day itself, to haunt both teams. But what the chief curator Sujan Mukherjee had predicted earlier, “The batter who shows intent will succeed,” turned out to be the silver lining.
With a 63-run lead and 3 wickets in hand, South Africa needed Bavuma to play a captain’s knock, knowing that the pitch would disintegrate. And what he came up with was a legendary act.
A 44-run partnership with Corbin Bosch for the 8th wicket and his 7th 50+ score in the last 11 innings was the difference between India’s defeat and South Africa’s historic win.
The skipper doubled up their overnight lead, setting India a forbidding 125-run target.
The application was the key that Temba showed and but none of the Indian batters. Chasing 124, India collapsed for 93, missing injured captain Shubman Gill. On a pitch expected to assist Indian spinners, Simon Harmer’s eight wickets proved decisive, renewing concerns over India’s batting on turning tracks.
“Coming in this morning, I think my message to the guy was always to just try to play what’s in front of you, try not to have too many preconceived ideas. And unfortunately, this morning it did kind of calm down a bit,” Bavuma told the media after winning the first Test.
“There was still a bit of turn, but Corbin and I could build a partnership. It was more a case of just play what’s in front of you, keep your nerve, but importantly keep the belief that the result can still go away.”
“Just keeping our nerve, playing what’s in front of us and keeping that belief,” Bavuma added.
A target of 125 doesn’t seem intimidating, but given the condition of the Eden Gardens pitch on day 3. But that fifty in the third innings, perhaps the only fifty-plus score in the entire game, gave him the idea that India might miss a trick.
“It’s not every day you score 125 and feel that’s a winning total, but we knew the pitch was tough. We had seen during our own batting how difficult it was out there. We took confidence from the way we put them under pressure with the ball in the first innings — the bowling really brought us back into the game. And as I said earlier, the stats here show that high successful run chases aren’t common,” he said.
“It was unfortunate for them that they lost their captain. He’s a big player, especially in that batting lineup, and his absence probably made things slightly easier for us.”
The third day belonged to Bavuma. After scoring an innings-defining fifty, he used his bowling resources well. And when needed, he also threw himself on the line. It was the 35th over when Axar Patel looked to shift gears, sensing a shortage of able batting partners.
Ryan Rickleton’s misjudgment gave if the space to smash a four and a couple of sixes. But just when the crowd got charged up, a miscued shot went up in the air and Bavuma plucked it with his fingers to end India’s hopes.
When asked about thoughts running through his mind before taking the catch amid the cheers from Indian fans, Bavuma said, “Just to make sure to catch the ball.”
“There’s not much time to think during those moments. The ball went quite high. But yeah, I just tried to make sure that I catch the ball,” he added.
The Deadly Combo Of Shukri Conrad & Temba Bavuma
The year 2025 has been one of historic firsts for South African cricket. They conquered Australia at Lord’s to become World Test Champions, and now have clinched their first Test win on Indian soil since 2010.
The partnership of head coach Shukri Conrad and captain Temba Bavuma continues to script milestones with remarkable consistency — the Kolkata victory marking their 10th win in just 11 matches.
And the secret behind this success is not a magic wand that the coach moves all the time, but togetherness among the boys who never want to give up.
“Grateful he hasn’t lost the Test match as a captain yet,” said a happy coach, Conrad, after the historic win.
“South Africa is a country with a diverse culture and this change room has embraced all of them. We’ve allowed people, players, to be exactly who they are, how they want to do things. But it’s a bunch of mates that are playing together. They don’t give up. They practice hard, they party hard. And more importantly, we’ve just allowed a culture to develop organically rather than stick a few points and this is how we want to do things.”
“So, no magic wand or recipe, just showing faith in them,” the coach concluded.
When asked about the controversial remark from Bumrah on the opening day, Conrad said, “Bavuma has the heart of a giant.”
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had …Read More
A cricket enthusiast whose dreams of playing for India paved the way for a compelling journey in journalism. With a comprehensive coverage spanning international and domestic cricket across formats, I have had … Read More
November 16, 2025, 19:29 IST
Read More
