South Africa defeated India by a massive 408 runs in the second Test in Guwahati, sealing a historic series sweep and handing the hosts their heaviest home defeat by runs.
The victory marks South Africa’s first Test series win on Indian soil since 2000, ending a 25-year wait.
The visiting team won the toss and chose to bat first, scoring 489 runs in their opening innings. India struggled in response, managing only 201 runs and falling behind by 288 runs.
South Africa started their second innings with a commanding lead and scored 260 for the loss of five wickets before declaring. India, set a target of 549 runs, collapsed for 140 runs in their second innings, with only Ravindra Jadeja offering meaningful resistance, scoring 54.
Simon Harmer ran through India’s batting lineup on the final day, taking 6 wickets for 37 runs. This marked his first five-wicket haul in India after falling just short on four previous attempts, finishing with 16 wickets in the series. Harmer struck early, removing Kuldeep Yadav and Dhruv Jurel in the same over to reduce India to 42 for 4. Rishabh Pant was dismissed when a defensive push off Harmer kicked up from the rough and looped to slip fielder Aiden Markram.
Sai Sudharsan fought hard, facing 139 balls, but fell to Senuran Muthusamy, caught by Markram, giving him the most catches (surpassing Ajinkya Rahane) in a Test match. Harmer added one more wicket before Nitish Reddy gloved an attempted reverse sweep, while Keshav Maharaj closed out the innings with the final two dismissals. Player of the Match Marco Jansen capped off the series with a sensational running catch from mid-on.
South Africa’s dominance in the series comes after their earlier World Test Championship win this year and extends India’s recent poor home form, leaving them with five defeats in their last seven home Tests after going unbeaten in 12 series over 12 years.
Brief scores: South Africa 489 & 260/5 decl. defeated India 201 & 140 (Ravindra Jadeja 54; Simon Harmer 6-37) by 408 runs.
Earlier, in the first Test at Eden Gardens, South Africa had won by a narrow 30 runs on the third day.