South Africa etched their name into cricket folklore on Wednesday, completing a stunning 2-0 Test series whitewash over India with a crushing 408-run victory in the second Test at Barsapara Cricket Stadium.
The result marks South Africa’s first Test series triumph on Indian soil since the 1999/2000 tour and ends a 25-year drought that had seen the Proteas win only two of 22 Tests in the country before this series.
Chasing an improbable 549 for victory after South Africa declared their second innings at 260 for 5, India were bundled out for a paltry 140 in just 47 overs shortly after lunch on the final day. Off-spinner Simon Harmer produced a career-defining spell of 6 for 37 – his best figures in Test cricket – to dismantle the Indian middle and lower order and seal the historic win.
Harmer, who took 17 wickets across the two Tests, was named Player of the Series and surpassed Dale Steyn’s record for the most Test wickets by a South African bowler in India.
Captain Temba Bavuma, now unbeaten in 11 of his 12 Tests as leader, described the achievement as “massive.”
“To come to India and win 2-0 is something we’ll cherish forever,” Bavuma said. “The way the team stuck to our plans, especially on these turning tracks, was outstanding.”
The first Test in Kolkata had set the tone, with South Africa defending a modest 124 to win by 30 runs after Harmer’s eight-wicket haul in the second innings. Aiden Markram’s nine catches in the series – a new Test record – underlined the visitors’ relentless intensity in the field.
For India, the defeat represents their heaviest ever by runs margin and only their second home series loss in 12 years, coming just weeks after a 3-0 whitewash by New Zealand. The hosts managed just one fifty-plus score in four innings and failed to produce a single century across the rubber – a rare blemish on home soil.
The series result lifts South Africa to second in the ICC World Test Championship standings, while India drop to fifth, their hopes of reaching a third consecutive final now hanging by a thread.
South Africa’s dominance on the subcontinent continues unabated: they drew 1-1 in Pakistan last month, swept Bangladesh 2-0 last year, and have now conquered the final frontier. The three-match ODI series begins on 30 November in Bengaluru, with the Proteas carrying irresistible momentum into the white-ball leg.
For a team that lifted the WTC mace in 2023 and has lost just one of its last 17 Tests, South Africa have sent an unmistakable message: the Proteas are once again a force to be feared in every corner of the world.