India vs South Africa, 1st Test - Live Cricket Score, Commentary
Start Time
9:30 AM
4:00 AMGMT
9:30 AMLOCAL
South Africa opt to bat
Have Your Say
Wow, so, India are going with 4 spinners. It's a XI loaded with allrounders.
Most consecutive tosses lost by a team in India
11 England (1961-73)
8 India (1934-51)
7 South Africa (2015-19)
11 England (1961-73)
8 India (1934-51)
7 South Africa (2015-19)
-- First toss won by South Africa in India in eight Tests since 2015. The last time they won the toss was at the same venue in 2010.
Teams:
South Africa (Playing XI): Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma(c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne(w), Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Shubman Gill: (On losing yet another toss) I think the only toss that I'm going to win is hopefully in the WTC finals. Yeah. Looks like a good surface. Hopefully, we'll get some movement early, hopefully we're able to extract that. Dressing room is pretty amazing. This Test bunch is very hungry and is always determined to perform every time we come out.These two test matches for us are very crucial and we're as hungry as ever. Looks like a good surface. It's going to be a good surface for the first day or a couple of days. And then, hopefully, we'll get some turn as the game goes on. Rishabh comes back in place of Reddy since we last played. And Axar is also back in the side.
Temba Bavuma: We will have a bat. The boys just came back from Pakistan. I was with the A team. From a preparation point of view, we've done as best as we can. It's not every day you get to play against 50,000-60,000 people in the stands. So, I'm looking forward to the challenge. Being back in India, it's always an eye-opener. Looking forward to everything. It's been sitting well at the moment (on being the World Test Champions). Hopefully, nothing really changes. For the performance point of view, work around with a lot more pride. But to keep doing what we've been doing. (On the pitch) It's on the dry side. Not much grass. It's a typical Indian wicket. First innings runs is the key. Rabada misses out due to a rib injury, Corbin Bosch comes in his place.
South Africa have won the toss and have opted to bat
Here's another update from Prakash - "Expectedly for India, Bumrah and Siraj have marked their run-up. For SA, Marco Jansen is currently at it."
Pitch Report | Dinesh Karthik and Shaun Pollock: "It's 21 degrees and it gets to a maximum of, what, 27 today, so it is very good cricketing conditions to play weather-wise. This pitch looks like it's holding together pretty okay. Generally, they do a little bit of watering the day before the game, sometimes even in the morning of the game, but this pitch, they haven't watered yesterday at all, which basically means if you look at the center of the pitch, there is a lot of dry patches here. So, as this game progresses, there will be a little bit of turn, but not today. Today, what we will see is a bit of reverse swing, and you've got some real good fast bowlers. Both teams have class, you've got Rabada and Bumrah, both those guys, it doesn't really matter about the conditions. Temba Bavuma might be a little bit scared. The last time he captained on this ground, he won the toss, he said, let's bat first and Australia knocked him out in the World Cup semi-final. We've got enough grass cover. it seems hard, so I think there might be movement on day one, but as this game goes on, the surface will change. We feel that it's best to win the toss and then bat first, but most importantly, the fast bowlers will have something in it initially, and a bit of reverse swing as well."
South Africa have brought three spinners on this tour but does the pitch warrant picking all of them? India also face a similar dilemma. Will be interesting to see the combination that both teams go with and whether they pick a third seamer instead of a spinner.
"Dhruv Jurel is the first on the India side of practice to get some throwdowns," says our correspondent Prakash Govindasreenivasan. "Two days ago, Ryan ten Doeschate said Jurel was undroppable on current form. On the same day, they released Nitish Reddy from the squad for this game. Rishabh Pant should take the all-rounder's place in the XI from last month's Delhi Test."
Most of the visiting squad members have no experience of playing in India, and the ones who do don't have fond memories of the place. Their last two tours have been nothing short of a disaster with six losses in seven games. This time, they arrive as world champions and have already proven their spin mettle by taking a Test off Pakistan on a square turner in Rawalpindi. What awaits them in India aren't square turners though, at least not at the Eden Gardens where seamers often play a significant role. The venue itself is welcoming Test cricket back after six years. A lot has changed in this time with India going from a team that was at the peak of their powers to one that is now in transition. The thing that hasn't changed, though, is that beating them in their own backyard remains a huge challenge.
8.30am local: Six years after they last played a Test in India, South Africa are back again for a two-Test series starting today in Kolkata. It's the World Test champs taking on a team in transition but one with incredible potential. This should be fun. Hello and welcome to our live coverage...
Preview by Prakash Govindasreenivasan
Kolkata sometimes feels like a merry millennial on a long nostalgia trip - a sepia-tinted city that hit pause sometime in the 90s, never laid finger on that button again, and remains determined in its refusal to let modernity seep in fully.
Old habits are immortalised here. The tram, for example, still rattles through the city's veins, 123 years after it was first electrified. Nowhere else in the country will you find it active anymore. There's a stubborn grace to this endurance and an insistence of holding onto ideas and notions that once shaped the city.
Fittingly, the Indian team now stands on the edge of its first real test since doing something very un-Kolkata-like - letting go of an old habit of producing raging turners.
There will, of course, be spin here, but it is unlikely to make its presence felt from the first morning. That phase of play in fact should have fast bowlers licking their lips and taking the stage. That's the real Eden Gardens heritage. Suranga Lakmal of 2017 will attest to it, as will Matt Henry of 2016. And a more recent instance is tinged in irony. Just last month, Mohammed Shami picked 15 wickets in four Ranji innings for Bengal here.
For all of South Africa's recent spin tendencies too, their only two Test wins in India since 2001 have come when Dale Steyn took matters into his own hands. Kagiso Rabada would love to step in those shoes and walk down such a path, even as Temba Bavuma considers picking a spin trio in Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer.
Eden Gardens, much like the city it sits in, offers an air of intrigue to the conditions awaiting two teams at different stages of their journeys. India, new and confident, are chasing points that will edge them towards a third WTC final. South Africa, meanwhile, are upbeat and recently-revitalised by that mace currently gracing their trophy cabinet. And both will want to indulge in the sport's oldest and most favourable habit - a win.
When: India vs South Africa, 1st Test, November 14-18 2025, 9:30 AM IST
Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
What to expect: Some help for the quicks early on? That's what both captains seem to believe heading into the fixture.
This iconic venue has been starved of Test cricket. The last one here was India's pink-ball game against Bangladesh in 2019. The previous red-ball Test came two years earlier as India's dramatic draw against Sri Lanka in 2017.
Team News
India
Ryan ten Doeschate reckoned that Dhruv Jurel was unstoppable on current form, even as Rishabh Pant returns. India's seam-bowling all-rounder project has thus been put on the backburner, as India have released Nitish Reddy from the first Test squad, adding him to the India A group for the unofficial ODIs until November 19. Pant will take his place in the XI.
Probable XI:KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa
After the highs of Rawalpindi, there's genuine excitement in the visitors camp about unleashing spin in India. One day out from the game, South Africa's WTC-winning captain Temba Bavuma, who returns after missing the Pakistan tour, is keeping his selection cards close to his chest. Will it be three spinners and two quicks or the other way round? He believes that's a call to take after training on Thursday (November 13).
Probable XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada
Did you know:
- Over the next two weeks, Shubman Gill has the chance to break the record for the most centuries by an Indian Test captain in a calendar year. He currently has five in 2025 - joint-most with Virat Kohli, who did it twice (2017 and 2018).
- Kagiso Rabada is 10 away from 350 Test wickets
- Ravindra Jadeja is 10 runs away from becoming the fourth cricketer to do the double of 4000 runs and 300 wickets in Tests
- Temba Bavuma has joint-most wins in first 10 Tests as captain - with England's Percy Chapman (9). This run for Bavuma includes a rain-affected draw vs West Indies
What they said:
"I cherish a lot of memories here [Eden Gardens]. My IPL career started there and this is one ground whenever I come [to], I definitely feel like how I feel at the PCA stadium [Mohali] in Punjab. It is a similar feeling whenever I come here." - Shubman Gill
"We haven't finalised the team but it's all those different considerations. The ball does seem to swing here in Kolkata probably a little bit more than what we are accustomed to playing in India. So there's obviously the consideration of the extra pacer, but obviously in the subcontinent as well, you want to make sure that you have the resources from a spin point of view." -Temba Bavuma
Kolkata sometimes feels like a merry millennial on a long nostalgia trip - a sepia-tinted city that hit pause sometime in the 90s, never laid finger on that button again, and remains determined in its refusal to let modernity seep in fully.
Old habits are immortalised here. The tram, for example, still rattles through the city's veins, 123 years after it was first electrified. Nowhere else in the country will you find it active anymore. There's a stubborn grace to this endurance and an insistence of holding onto ideas and notions that once shaped the city.
Fittingly, the Indian team now stands on the edge of its first real test since doing something very un-Kolkata-like - letting go of an old habit of producing raging turners.
There will, of course, be spin here, but it is unlikely to make its presence felt from the first morning. That phase of play in fact should have fast bowlers licking their lips and taking the stage. That's the real Eden Gardens heritage. Suranga Lakmal of 2017 will attest to it, as will Matt Henry of 2016. And a more recent instance is tinged in irony. Just last month, Mohammed Shami picked 15 wickets in four Ranji innings for Bengal here.
For all of South Africa's recent spin tendencies too, their only two Test wins in India since 2001 have come when Dale Steyn took matters into his own hands. Kagiso Rabada would love to step in those shoes and walk down such a path, even as Temba Bavuma considers picking a spin trio in Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer.
Eden Gardens, much like the city it sits in, offers an air of intrigue to the conditions awaiting two teams at different stages of their journeys. India, new and confident, are chasing points that will edge them towards a third WTC final. South Africa, meanwhile, are upbeat and recently-revitalised by that mace currently gracing their trophy cabinet. And both will want to indulge in the sport's oldest and most favourable habit - a win.
When: India vs South Africa, 1st Test, November 14-18 2025, 9:30 AM IST
Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
What to expect: Some help for the quicks early on? That's what both captains seem to believe heading into the fixture.
This iconic venue has been starved of Test cricket. The last one here was India's pink-ball game against Bangladesh in 2019. The previous red-ball Test came two years earlier as India's dramatic draw against Sri Lanka in 2017.
Team News
India
Ryan ten Doeschate reckoned that Dhruv Jurel was unstoppable on current form, even as Rishabh Pant returns. India's seam-bowling all-rounder project has thus been put on the backburner, as India have released Nitish Reddy from the first Test squad, adding him to the India A group for the unofficial ODIs until November 19. Pant will take his place in the XI.
Probable XI:KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah
South Africa
After the highs of Rawalpindi, there's genuine excitement in the visitors camp about unleashing spin in India. One day out from the game, South Africa's WTC-winning captain Temba Bavuma, who returns after missing the Pakistan tour, is keeping his selection cards close to his chest. Will it be three spinners and two quicks or the other way round? He believes that's a call to take after training on Thursday (November 13).
Probable XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada
Did you know:
- Over the next two weeks, Shubman Gill has the chance to break the record for the most centuries by an Indian Test captain in a calendar year. He currently has five in 2025 - joint-most with Virat Kohli, who did it twice (2017 and 2018).
- Kagiso Rabada is 10 away from 350 Test wickets
- Ravindra Jadeja is 10 runs away from becoming the fourth cricketer to do the double of 4000 runs and 300 wickets in Tests
- Temba Bavuma has joint-most wins in first 10 Tests as captain - with England's Percy Chapman (9). This run for Bavuma includes a rain-affected draw vs West Indies
What they said:
"I cherish a lot of memories here [Eden Gardens]. My IPL career started there and this is one ground whenever I come [to], I definitely feel like how I feel at the PCA stadium [Mohali] in Punjab. It is a similar feeling whenever I come here." - Shubman Gill
"We haven't finalised the team but it's all those different considerations. The ball does seem to swing here in Kolkata probably a little bit more than what we are accustomed to playing in India. So there's obviously the consideration of the extra pacer, but obviously in the subcontinent as well, you want to make sure that you have the resources from a spin point of view." -Temba Bavuma
Squads:
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep
South Africa Squad: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma(c), Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne(w), Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Corbin Bosch, Senuran Muthusamy, Zubayr Hamza, Wiaan Mulder
