IND vs SA 2025-26: India face a tough test at home against world champions South Africa — key areas to focus on.
South Africa hardly faced any turbulence in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle, where they beat Australia in the final at Lord’s to earn the crown. During the two-year cycle, the Proteas faced only three defeats in 13 Tests at a win-loss ratio of 3.00. In the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle, they ended the two-match away red-ball series against Pakistan at a scoreline of 1-1.
South Africa drew massive inspiration by beating Pakistan during the second Test at Rawalpindi, riding on their clinical all-round performance. Their next acid test will be in India. The hosts could face a huge challenge against the ascendant Protea side.
History suggests that the Rainbow Nation have struggled in India, with only five Test wins in 19 games. But the last couple of years have been different for the Temba Bavuma-led side. To complement their continued success in white-ball formats, their red-ball skills have improved by great extent as well.
Let’s take a look at India’s potential challengers against South Africa
Experienced and versatile pace attack
South Africa have picked two experienced pacers – Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen – in their 15-member squad for the India trip. Both pacers are versatile with their skills and can hurry the batters with their pace. Apart from them, the visitors have two pace bowling all-rounders, Corbin Bosch and Wiaan Mulder, who can provoke the batters with their consistent line and length.
The opening clash at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata could see a new ball challenge for India’s top three. Since the beginning of 2015, pacers have collected 85 out of 103 Test wickets there. In most of those games, there was lively grass, encouraging pacers to bowl full-length deliveries.
Moreover, Rabada and Jansen are in top form. Since January 2024, the former is the Proteas’ second leading Test wicket-taker. The right-arm fast bowler has bagged 53 wickets in 24 innings at an average of 21.60 and a strike rate of 40.10.
Meanwhile, Jansen has collected 29 Test wickets at an average of 23.65. His eyes will be on India’s two openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul.
The former averages only 27.7 against left-arm pacers in Tests, including six dismissals in 14 innings. On the other hand, Rahul has been dismissed nine times in 15 Test innings against left-arm pacers since the start of 2022.
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Battle between spinners & batters
During India’s nightmarish defeat at home against New Zealand, their spinners struggled against the Kiwi batters. Ravichandran Ashwin had an average of 41.22 for his nine wickets in six innings, while Kuldeep Yadav picked up three wickets at 41.66. Ravindra Jadeja bowled decently for his 16 wickets at an average of 21.56.
In the recent West Indies home series, their spinners picked up 23 out of 40 wickets. This was a good improvement for the spin department. But they would need to continue the same dominance against the Proteas.
It will be vital for Jadeja and Kuldeep to bowl at the right spots for a long period. After all, they are not expected to get any advantage from the Eden Gardens surface. The Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, hosting its maiden Test match, isn’t expected to produce a rank-turner either.
The Proteas save various dynamic batters. Tony de Zorzi scored a fine century in Pakistan in the previous series. Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs also spent a decent time in the middle along with Dewald Brevis, who could make a bad wicket look like a good one.
On the flip of the coin, the focus will be on India’s batters’ performance against the visiting spinners. In South Africa’s previous Test series in Pakistan, their spinners were the main threat and they took the most wickets. In fact, they picked up 35 of the 40 wickets on offer in the series.
Kehsav Maharaj is their leading wicket-taker since the start of 2024 with 54 wickets in 19 innings at an average of just 21. Simon Harmer, who recently crossed 1000 first-class wickets, will look to use his experience during the India trip. This is where India need to be careful. They can’t let the spinners settle and bowl at a certain line for a long period.
The South Africa series holds massive importance for the Shubman Gill-led side in terms of the WTC 2025-27 points. To start a new legacy for a comparatively young side, India can’t afford to lose another Test series at home. They need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The opening clash of the two-match series begins on November 14 at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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