IND vs SA Test series: Proteas whitewash India in a shameful defeat for Gambhir’s men in Guwahati

South Africa thrashed India by 408 runs in Guwahati on day five of the second Test of the series to mark an incredible 2-0 series win over the hosts on Wednesday. This is South Africa’s first Test series win in India in 25 years with a commanding 2-0 whitewash, ending India's 12-month unbeaten home Test record that had lasted 12 years. Simon Harmer outbowled the Indian spinners spectacularly in a country where his 2015 tour had been a low point, finishing with a sensational 17 wickets at an average of just 8.94, the best figures ever recorded by a visiting bowler in India for a series.

South Africa’s big first-innings platform

After choosing to bat first, South Africa built their win on a towering 489 in the first innings, showing patience and discipline on a slow surface. The openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton gave a solid start with 38 and 35, respectively, before the middle order laid the real foundation.​

The innings turned decisively with Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen producing superb lower-order contributions.

Muthusamy anchored the innings with a composed 109 off 206 balls, while Jansen counterattacked brilliantly with 93 off 91 balls, hitting six fours and seven sixes to push South Africa close to 500.

Along the way, Tristan Stubbs (49), Temba Bavuma (41) and Kyle Verreynne (45) ensured the scoreboard never stagnated.

For India, Kuldeep Yadav was the standout bowler with 4 for 115, supported by Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah with two wickets each, but they could not prevent South Africa from batting deep into the third session.

India’s collapse in first innings

In reply, India’s batting never settled, and they folded for 201, conceding a huge 288-run lead. Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored with 58, providing the only substantial resistance in the top order, while Washington Sundar’s 48 from No. 8 was the only other innings of note.​

The rest of the line-up struggled against South Africa’s varied attack. Marco Jansen was outstanding, taking 6 for 48 with sustained bounce and movement, repeatedly troubling India’s right-handers.

Offspinner Simon Harmer complemented him perfectly, returning 3 for 64 and striking at key moments through the middle order, while Keshav Maharaj chipped in with the wicket of KL Rahul.

India slipped from 95 for 2 to 122 for 7, and despite some late defiance from Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav, they never got close to avoiding a huge deficit.

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Stubbs and de Zorzi tightened the screw

With a commanding lead, South Africa chose not to enforce the follow-on and instead batted again to bat India out of the game. In the second innings, they declared at 260 for 5, setting India an improbable target of 549.​

Tristan Stubbs played the innings of the match in the second dig, crafting a mature 94 off 180 balls that held the innings together.

He found solid support from Tony de Zorzi, who made 49 at better than a run every 1.4 balls, and Wiaan Mulder, who finished unbeaten on 35.

Ravindra Jadeja did his best to drag India back with 4 for 62 in an extended spell, but South Africa’s batters managed the spin well, scoring just quickly enough to ensure ample time to bowl India out.

Harmer and Maharaj finish the job

Chasing 549, India’s second-innings effort never threatened the target and turned into a battle for survival almost immediately. They were 27 for 2 at stumps on day four, and the slide continued on the final morning as the top order failed to blunt South Africa’s spinners.​

Simon Harmer was the destroyer-in-chief, claiming 6 for 37 in 23 overs with classical offspin that exploited both rough and uneven bounce.

He removed Rahul, Kuldeep, Jurel, Pant, Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy, breaking the innings at every stage.

Keshav Maharaj supported him with 2 for 37, including the key wicket of Ravindra Jadeja for 54, who was the only Indian batter to show sustained resistance on the final day.

Marco Jansen and Senuran Muthusamy chipped in with a wicket each as India were bundled out for just 140 in 63.5 overs. Jansen was named the Player of the Match of the second Test for his 93 runs and sevent wickets acorss two innings.

Score summary