What began as a momentous occasion for Guwahati, with the city hosting its first-ever Test, descended into a nightmare when an imperious South Africa inflicted India’s biggest Test defeat and, ultimately, a comprehensive series whitewash.
Barring the 1st day, where the honours were shared between both sides, India remained on the back foot for the remaining test and succumbed to a complete performance by the visiting side.
India’s biggest Test defeat: How it unfolded?
On a gloomy Guwahati morning, Temba Bavuma opted to bat in conditions which looked better than the one in Kolkata. India ended up picking 6 scalps for 247 to end day 1, ensuring not too much damage was done.
Day 2 saw Senuran Muthusamy continue his fairytale start in Test cricket and scored his maiden century, forming an 88 and 97-run partnership with Kyle Verreynne and Marco Jansen.The latter missed out on his maiden century by merely 7 runs as the visitors were bundled out for a mammoth 489 in the first innings.
What followed next is nothing short of a nightmare and something every Indian cricket fan would want removed from their memory as soon as possible.
Barring Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and Washington Sundar (48), the rest of the batting lineup fell like a pack of cards, as Jansen picked 6 wickets – notably all from short balls – with the Indian side having no answers to his pace and bounce.
The hosts were skittled for 201, and instead of enforcing the follow-on, Temba Bavuma chose to bat with a 288-run lead.
Harmer and Jansen Dominate as India Suffer Record Test Defeat
Any chance of India winning this test was erased, after South Africa, surprisingly enough, batted until the final hour of day 4 with Tristan Stubbs scoring 94 in what was largely a lethargic batting display considering the lead they had.
It would take a Herculean effort from the Indian side to chase down 549 and the hosts got off to the worst possible start as Harmer and Jansen were the wreckers-in-chief again, dismissing both openers within 27 runs, leaving South Africa in a strong position for day 5.
The match ended before lunch on the final day despite some resistance shown by Sai Sudharshan in his 139-ball knock and Jadeja’s fifty as Simon Harmer spun a web and finally got his maiden 5-wicket haul against India, something he had missed out on in the previous match.
The Jansen-Harmer duo accounted for 29 of India’s 40 wickets in this series and fittingly, it took a Jansen blinder to take the last wicket as the visitors scripted India’s biggest Test defeat (in terms of runs) and second series whitewash at home within a year.
Records made and broken after India’s biggest Test defeat
17 – wickets in this series by Simon Harmer are the most taken by a South African bowler in a test series in India, surpassing Dale Steyn’s 15 in 2008.
27 – Scalps by Simon Harmer in 4 matches makes him South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in tests in India, surpassing Dale Steyn’s 26 in 6 outings.
408 – the biggest margin of defeat for India in tests, and South Africa’s second largest margin of victory in whites after a 492-run win against Australia in 2018.
11 – wins is the most by a captain in tests in the first 12 matches. The only miss was a rain-affected draw against West Indies away from home.
7 – sixes by Marco Jansen in his 93-run knock, are the most by a visiting batter in a test in India, surpassing Matthew Hayden and Sir Vivian Richards who had hit 6 sixes each.
9 – catches taken by Aiden Markram, to become the fielder with the most catches in a test, the record previously held by Ajinkya Rahane who had plucked 8 against Sri Lanka in 2015.
What’s next for India and South Africa?
Both teams will now lock horns in a 3-match ODI series beginning from 30th November in Ranchi, followed by a 5-match T20 series from 9th-19th December, serving as a preparation ground in the buildup to the upcoming T20 World Cup.
As regards to Test cricket, India have three series remaining in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle, with the next one being played in August 2026 against Sri Lanka away from home and a month later, they travel to New Zealand for a 2-match series.
The final series will be the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar trophy, which shall be hosted by India in January 2027.
Meanwhile, the reigning test champions will also have to wait more than a year to play their next test series when they host three consecutive home series – Australia in a 3-match series in September-October 2026, followed by Bangladesh in November and England towards the end of next year.
The defending champions will end their Test Championship cycle with a 2-match series in Sri Lanka in early 2027.
