Temba Bavuma could barely hide his relief. South Africa had just wrapped up a 2-0 Test series victory in India, their first success here for a quarter of a century, and the captain admitted the feeling was “sweeter” because he still remembers “being on the other side of the result.”
“It’s not every day that you get to think that you can come to India and walk away with a 2-0 series win,” Bavuma said after the tourists sealed a 408-run triumph in Guwahati, their second-largest win by runs. “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.”
Key facts first
• South Africa won both matches, in Bengaluru and Guwahati, by hefty margins.
• The success ends a 25-year wait for a series victory in India.
• Simon Harmer finished with 17 wickets at 8.94; Keshav Maharaj claimed 11.
• Kagiso Rabada missed out through injury, yet the visitors’ attack still dominated.
Bavuma’s perfect record
South Africa are the reigning World Test Champions and have lost just one of 15 Tests since August 2024. Bavuma has captained 12 of those and won the lot. He attributes the run to a straightforward approach. “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,” he said. “We want to play what is in front of us and adapt accordingly. Guys go out there quite clear on their roles and what they’re trying to do. There’s a strong sense in each other that anyone on their day can do it for the team.”
That clarity has produced consistent, if unspectacular, batting returns. “We don’t have the guys who go on and score big 150s and all,” Bavuma acknowledged, “but we’ll have four or five different guys going on to score 60s and 70s.” In other words, collective rather than individual brilliance.
Dual-spinner squeeze
The skipper was effusive about his spinners, whose styles dovetail neatly. “Simon, as a spinner, as a player, he’s got the wealth of experience,” Bavuma noted. “He complements Keshav quite well. A little bit on the taller side, a bit more guile with the ball. What I appreciate is the competitiveness between the two. They are the two guys that I have struggled to take the ball out of their hands.
“Simon was the man for us in this series. We’re so used to Kesh being that guy. We’re in a good space from a bowling point of view. A guy like Simon, Kesh as well on his days, them stepping up, having lost a guy like KG [Rabada] who was a big player for us, again speaks about the need for the guys to want to do it for the team.”
Harmer’s return
For Harmer, this tour was a personal milestone. The off-spinner played a single Test in India back in 2015 without much success, then spent a decade on the county circuit before forcing his way back. In four innings this time he bagged 17 wickets, twisting the ball both ways and rarely missing his length. “Harmer’s variations upset India batters,” former selector and commentator Saba Karim observed. The numbers back him up: an average under nine on pitches that turned but hardly crumbled.
Subtext and next steps
The victory keeps South Africa on top of the World Test Championship table and underlines the depth in their bowling, particularly spin. It also poses questions for India, who struggled against accurate, flighted off-spin and lacked the sustained lower-order runs that have rescued them in the past.
Bavuma, reflective rather than triumphal, insisted the side will keep things simple. “I can go on forever about the team,” he said with a grin, “but I feel like the team is in a good space.” A home series against Sri Lanka in January offers the next chance to prove it.
