'Biggest Ever' 408-Run Defeat, 0-2 Sweep: India Hit All-Time Low In Test Cricket
India suffered their heaviest defeat by runs at home in a Test match as South Africa swept the series 2-0.
- South Africa won the Test series in India 2-0 for the first time since 2000-01
- The 408-run defeat in the Guwahati Test was India's worst ever in terms of runs
- India's previous largest Test defeat was by 342 runs against Australia in 2004
Team India's home fortress in Tests stands breached, torn into, and uprooted as South Africa secure a 2-0 sweep, winning both matches by convincing margins. After a 3-day triumph against Shubman Gill's Team India in Kolkata, South Africa secured a thumping 5-day win in Guwahati, securing their first series triumph in the country since 2000-01. The victory marked another historic milestone for the Proteas, who became the first team to beat India by over 400 runs in a Test match, surpassing the previous best, held by Australia.
India's worst defeat until the Guwahati Test had come in 2004 when Australia had beaten the hosts by 342 runs in the Nagpur Test. South Africa's biggest win in India, on the other hand, had come in the 1996 series. It was also the first time since the 2000-01 series that South Africa managed to complete a 2-0 sweep in India.
India's biggest defeats in terms of runs in Test cricket:
408 runs vs South Africa in 2025
342 runs vs Australia in 2004
341 runs vs Pakistan in 2006
337 runs vs Australia in 2007
333 runs vs Australia in 2017
329 runs vs South Africa in 1996
World Test Championship winner South Africa clinched the two-match series 2-0 after taking the opener in Kolkata by 30 runs and the second match by a whopping 408 runs in Guwahati.
Chasing an improbable 549-run target, India was down to 27-2 at stumps on Tuesday on Day 4. India lost its openers early Tuesday when Yashasvi Jaiswal was caught behind for 13 runs, while Lokesh Rahul was bowled for six. On the 5th day, wickets kept falling like a house of cards, with B Sai Sudharsan's 139-ball 14 encapsulating the desperate attempt by the hosts to push for a draw. Ravindra Jadeja slammed a fighting fifty but it wasn't enough to rescue a stalemate.
The likes of Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy spun an unbreakable web around the Indian batting unit, bowling them out for 140 runs in the second innings. Harmer was the pick of the bowlers for the Proteas in the second innings, bagging 6 wickets for 37 runs while Keshav Maharaj, Muthusamy and Marco Jansen pitched in with 2, 1 and 1 wickets respectively.
In the first innings, Marco Jansen took 6-48 to help South Africa take a 314-run first innings lead when India was bowled out for 201 in reply to South Africa's 489.
India Cricket Team
South Africa Cricket Team
Rishabh Pant