Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 16 : South Africa defeated India by 30 runs in the first Test of the two-match series as India failed to chase down the target of 124 in the fourth innings at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. With the win, South Africa registered their first Test win on Indian soil in 15 years, since 2010. After the defeat, Team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant said that the team did not capitalise well and should have chased the target.
On Day 3, India needed 124 runs to win after they bowled South Africa out for 153 runs. Both Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul lost their wickets early as India were reduced to 1-2 within three overs. While Washington Sundar (31) batted with resistance, the rest of the batting crumbled to the Proteas bowling attack, especially the off-spinner Simon Harmer. Axar Patel (25) also batted with resistance, but once his wicket fell, India's tail could only add one run before they were all out for 93. Harmer claimed figures of 4-21 in 14 overs, while Marco Janses and Keshav Maharaj claimed two apiece.
After the loss, Pant expressed that the team shouldn't dwell too much on the loss but admitted they should have been able to chase the target. He credited South Africa's Temba Bavuma and Corbin Bosch's partnership for putting them on the back foot and noted that even a modest score around 120 can be tricky on such pitches.
"After a game like this, you can't dwell into it too much. We should have been able to chase it. The pressure kept on building. We didn't capitalise enough. Temba and Bosch had a good stand in the morning. That partnership between them hurt us. There was help from the wicket. A score of 120 can be tricky on these surfaces. But having said that, we should be able to soak in the pressure and capitalise. We haven't thought on the improvements but we will come back strong for sure," Pant said during the post-match presentation.
Notably, this is India's first defeat at Eden Gardens since December 2012 against England.
Earlier in the match, India bowled out South Africa for 159 after being asked to bowl first on a pitch that offered the bowlers variable bounce and proved to be tough for batting India, however, found batting just as hard and were dismissed for 189. KL Rahul top-scored with a gritty 39 while Rishabh Pant helped with a quick 27 off just 24 balls. Ravindra Jadeja's 27-run innings also helped India gain a 30-run lead. For South Africa, Harmer stood out with a four-wicket haul, while Marco Jansen claimed three wickets.
Trailing by 30 runs, South Africa posted 153 in their second innings, giving India a target of 124. Most of the visiting batters found Jadeja's spin difficult to handle, but captain Temba Bavuma showed resilience with a gritty 55 the only half-century of the match. Bosch added a valuable 25 to keep the innings going. Jadeja finished with figures of 4 for 50 from 20 overs, while Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj picked up two wickets each, and Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah took one apiece.
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