Hansie Cronje was the South Africa captain in 2000-01 and Sachin Tendulkar led India the last time South Africa won a Test series in India. But on Wednesday, South Africa clinched its second series win in 25 years in India by beating the hosts by 408 runs.
World Test Championship winners South Africa won the opening Test at Kolkata by 30 runs.
The visitors bowled out India for 140 on the final day of the contest, with Ravindra Jadeja providing the only resistance for India with 54.
Spinner Simon Harmer took six wickets for South Africa, while Aiden Markram took a record nine catches.
In 2000-01, the Cronje-led South Africans also had a 2-0 win. The Proteas had won both tests in Mumbai and Bengaluru, against the Tendulkar-led India.
Since then, South Africa had managed to win only two of 13 Tests in India before overturning that record in Kolkata and Guwahati this year.
South Africa had set an improbable 549 runs for victory, after scoring 489 and 260-5 in two innings. India had folded for 201 runs in its first innings, conceding a 288-run lead.
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Kagiso Rabada is disappointed South Africa will not be playing any Test cricket in their home summer and has urged administrators to ensure the sport remains a truly global game.
India had lost three wickets in the morning session Wednesday, and was 90-5 at tea. Then, they lost a further five wickets in just over an hour in the second session, comprehensively beaten before lunch on day five.
It is a second home loss for India in consecutive seasons. New Zealand won 3-0 in October 2024, raising a serious question about India’s transitional phase in the red-ball format.
Harmer finished with 17 wickets in the two Tests, scripting a historic win for the Proteas. It was a first five-wicket haul on Indian soil for the off-spinner – he had previously had four four-wicket hauls here.
Aiden Markram supported him with nine catches in the match, the most ever for a fielder in a single Test in history.
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Full highlights from Lord’s as half-centuries for England’s Jacob Bethell, Joe Root and Jos Buttler came in vain with South Africa edging to a series-sealing, five-run victory
Ravindra Jadeja top-scored for India with 54 off 87 balls, including four fours and two sixes, even as the hosts missed captain Shubman Gill. He suffered a neck injury in Kolkata and missed the second Test.
Temba Bavuma, meanwhile, has won 11 out of 12 tests for South Africa as captain, including the 2025 World Test Championship final in June.
