IND VS RSA - 2nd Test, South Africa tour of India, 2025

Outbowled by Santner, and now outbowled by Harmer in a variety of conditions, these are unprecedented times for India's spin attack. We saw them trying to adapt on the fly, with Washington - in particular - bowling a lot slower in the second innings than he did in the first. It's a young group and they're only going to get better, but it's no secret that this management is now under a lot of pressure with the kind of results they've had, especially at home. There's a long gap now with India not playing any Test cricket until late next year. Who knows what changes lie ahead in the intervening period. This moment, though, is all about South Africa and the remarkable win they've pulled off. Plenty for them to celebrate before the ODIs get under way. On that note, it's time to wrap up our coverage. Hope you enjoyed it. This is Sagar Chawla signing off on behalf of Siva and Nikhil Jadhav. Goodbye!

So New Zealand last year wasn't a one-off -- India are clearly not the same force at home as they used to be. The transition from a group of great players at their peak to this new lot was never going to be easy, but this is proving to be harder than imagined. Blanked 3-0 by the Kiwis, and now 2-0 by a South African side that's soaring to great heights under Temba Bavuma who has won 11 Tests in 12 since taking over. They've completely outplayed India in all departments on two very different pitches, helped by the toss.

That was one of the all-time great performances by a visiting spinner in India by Simon Harmer. What a bowler he has turned into, shaped by all those years of grinding it out in first-class cricket. And what a performance by Marco Jansen too. The way he used the short ball to blow away the Indian lineup has rarely been done by a visiting pacer in India. Was a sensational effort on a pitch that was one of its kind in terms of the bounce it offered.

Temba Bavuma is given the series trophy and he walks to his team who are standing in front of the winners' hoarding. Bavuma hoists the trophy high into the air and then places it in front of the hoarding. Now time for the photos as the support staff and the others in their contingent join in. A truly deserving moment for the current WTC champs.

Temba Bavuma | South Africa captain: Yeah, it's massive. I think for me personally, I've been out of the game for a couple of months. Obviously through injury and just being at home, these are the type of things that we're working towards, dreaming of. It's not every day where you get to think that you can come to India and walk away with a 2-0 series win. I think what makes it sweeter as well for some of us within the group is the fact that we've been on the other side of the result. We've had tough days and we know how tough it can be. But yeah, I think for this group of gentlemen, again, another incredible achievement. I think it probably answers some questions that were posed to us as a group. (what have you done this series to be here?) I think there's a big shift in our mindset in terms of what we want to do when we're out there on the field of play. We want to play what is in front of us and adapt accordingly. I think our preparation is something that we've really upped. I think guys go out there quite clear on their roles and what we're trying to do. I think from a unit point of view, which I think is probably the biggest thing, is guys wanting to contribute. There's a strong sense in each other that anyone on their day can do it for the team. Even the guys who come off from the bench, Muthusamy, guys, they come in and they're ready to make a match-winning play. I think as a team, we're in a good space. I think the way we perform there is obviously going to grow our confidence even more. (transparency and communication in the group) I think that's a big thing in any team. I guess even in an organization, everyone wants to know where they stand. Everyone wants to know what is expected of them. I think also the other stuff is the fact that guys want to be the man for the team. As a captain, sometimes it's very hard to take the ball out of the bowler's hands. Everyone wants to continue bowling. You see it with the batting as well. Everyone is contributing. We don't have the guys who go on and score big, 150s and all, but we'll have four or five different guys who are going on to score 60s and 70s. I can go on forever about the team, but I feel like the team is in a good space. (on the spin attack) On Simon, he has the experience of having played in India last in 2015. As a spinner, as a player, he's got the wealth of experience. He complements Keshav quite well. A little bit on the taller side, a bit more kind with the ball. I think for me, what I appreciate is the competitiveness between the two. They are the two guys that have struggled to take the ball out of their hands. And look, Simon, he was the man for us in this series. We're so used to Kesh being that guy. So yeah, I think we're in a good space from a bowling point of view. And I think a guy like Simon, Kesh as well, on his days, them stepping up, having lost a guy like KG, who was a big player for us, again speaks about the need for the guys to want to do it for the team.

Simon Harmer | Player of the Series: Yeah, like I said in the last Test match, it's been a long road. Ten years later, back here, completely different feelings. So I'm going to leave with a lot more fonder memories than I did the last time. But I think as a whole, as a team, for us to be here at 2-0, that was always the goal. And for us to get over the line against a really good Indian team, I think it was a hell of an effort. I was just watching our second innings when the Indian boys bowled. It seemed after 40 overs, the ball got a bit softer. It wasn't happening as quickly. But I think with the deterioration in the pitch, footmarks, there was always enough, the odd ball, the ball that Rishabh got, I think, if you look at that. So very happy. Nice to contribute. Nice to get wickets. And nice to finally get a fifer in India. I think in the second innings, we knew that they were going to bat for their lives today. And they put up a hell of a fight. But we knew that if we stayed in the game long enough, put enough balls in the right area, then things would happen for us. Some sharp catches at slip from Aiden. And a couple from Marco as well, which go a long way. So yeah, very happy with the performance and looking forward to celebrating the win. (why did he switch ends?) I think probably when I was bowling from that end, it felt like it was a left-handers wicket. Like the best part of the wicket was stump to stump. But coming from this end, Temba just came to me and said, why don't we give it a go? And things started to happen to the lefties. It started to spin from straight with the older ball. So great decision from him. And I'm happy to get the wicket. (what's next?) Yeah, look, Kesh's record speaks for itself. He's an incredible bowler. And he deserves to be the number one spinner. I'm very happy playing the supporting role. And if the opportunity presents itself for me to play, I try and take it with both hands. But at the end of the day, I just need to make sure that I'm getting better. I don't think my batting was very good, Jasprit had my number this series. So a few things to work on there. Keep trying to evolve, keep trying to get better. Another county season at Essex. A few games back home for the Titans. And then we don't play Test cricket until September-October next year. So back to the drawing board and make sure that if I'm in the squad, that we put our best foot forward and I'm ready for the challenge.

Marco Jansen | Player of the Match: Yeah, obviously, if you win any Test match, it's a nice feeling. And winning a Test match and a Test series in India is also very special. Very well done to all the guys. Everyone put their hands up in critical situations. And, yeah, just everyone put their hands up when we needed them. And, yeah, proper team performance. We just spoke about doing the simple things very well. And then just assessing the wicket and trying to figure out our plans. And if we needed to change things, we needed to change things. If not, then stick to what works. (on his batting) I just give all the credit to Shukes (Shukri Conrad the coach). Shukes basically just told me to go out and play my game. Just be free, free up a little bit. The first Test, I was a bit tense. And, yeah, so I just went out there and tried to express myself. For me, it just means everyone is working very hard. We're all working hard on our prep. We know what we're doing. We know what we need to go out and perform as a team and in an individual capacity. So, yeah, we're always trying to improve. We always see where we can get better and all those fancy stuff. But, you know, at the end of the day, when we're on the field, we just play for each other and we just give our best.

Rishabh Pant | India captain: Definitely it's a little disappointing, you know, but as a team we need to get better. And you've got to give credit to the opposition that they played better cricket than us. Because, you know, in a series like this, which has already been tough if you dwell too much, you've got to take the learning and stick as a team. Definitely they dominated the series, but at the same time you can't take cricket for granted. You're playing at home, but at the same time we need to be clear with our mindset. And there were moments in the game where we were up on the team, but we didn't capitalise it as a team. But, you know, in future we're going to get better, learn from it and get better from it. No, definitely they played better cricket, but at the same time, you know, in cricket you can't take anything for granted. You can play at home or away, but at the same time, you know, cricket demands that determination and that extra. And there are moments in the game where you need to capitalise as a team, as a batting unit. But as a team we didn't capitalise on those enough for a longer period of time, and that cost us the whole series. (positives from the series) I think the positive will be focusing in our own plan, and we need to be better with that. That's the only thing we're going to take from it.

Stats by Roshan Gede

Clean-sweeps for India in Tests at home
0-2 vs SA, 2000
0-3 vs NZ, 2024
0-2 vs SA, 2025

Most wins after first 12 Tests as captain
11 - Temba Bavuma
10 - Ben Stokes
10 - Lindsay Hassett
Bavuma’s only miss so far was the rain-affected drawn game at Port of Spain last year.

Home series for India with no individual hundred
vs NZ, 1969/70
vs NZ, 1995/96
vs SA, 2025/26
India batters averaged 15.23 across these two games, the second-lowest for them in any Test series, after 12.42 on the 2002/03 New Zealand tour.

India’s biggest Test defeats (by runs)
408 runs vs SA, Guwahati, 2025
342 runs vs AUS, Nagpur, 2004
341 runs vs PAK, Karachi, 2006
337 runs vs AUS, Melbourne, 2007
333 runs vs AUS, Pune, 2017
329 runs vs SA, Kolkata, 1996

This is also SA’s second-biggest victory margin by runs after 492 against Australia in Johannesburg, 2018.

This is South Africa’s second Test series win in India after their 2-0 sweep in February-March 2000 under Hansie Cronje.

0-3 to NZ last year and 0-2 vs SA now - two home Test series defeats for India in two years. They had lost only two home series post the 0-2 drubbing to SA in 2000 until the NZ series last year: vs Australia (2004) and vs England (2012).

The last time India lost two Test series at home across two consecutive years was over four decades ago: vs West Indies (1983) and vs England (1984/85).

South Africa’s last three Test series in Asia
Won 2-0 vs Bangladesh, 2024
Drew 1-1 vs Pakistan, 2025
Won 2-0 vs India, 2025

Between January 2015 and the aforementioned Bangladesh series, they had lost 10 of the 13 Tests in the subcontinent, the other three ending in draws.

Simon Harmer in Tests in India
Matches: 4
Wickets: 27
Avg: 15.03
SR: 36.1
BBI: 6/37