While Siraj and Axar were struggling at the other end, Bumrah bowled an imperious opening spell. Another recap for you: 7 overs, 4 maidens, 9 runs conceded, 2 wickets. Bumrah has dismissed both openers 13 times since 2018, the most by any bowler in that period. Today, Rickelton and Markram fell victim to the No. 1-ranked ICC Test bowler.

Lunch on Day 1. 27 overs done in the morning session, and it was one of two halves. South Africa dominated the first 10 overs, with Rickelton and Markram going berserk. But then Jasprit Bumrah showed why he's the No. 1 bowler in the world, striking twice in two overs. Kuldeep also removed SA captain Bavuma cheaply. After that, Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi have somewhat stabilized the ship for the visitors.

SA 105/3 (27) - Lunch

On the stroke of Lunch, Washington Sundar has been given his first over of the day by Shubman Gill. Can he create a late breakthrough and end the session on the ultimate high for India?

SA 102/3 (26)

South Africa reach the three-figure mark. 100 up in 24.3 overs for the visitors. Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton provided a superb start, which has played a role in SA getting here. A huge responsibility now on de Zorzi, Mulder and co.

SA 100/3 (25)

Superb shot! Tony de Zorzi breaks the shackles and slams Kuldeep Yadav for 6 over long-off. De Zorzi shows presence off mind, comes down the track and effortlessly launches it for a maximum. 

Despite the loss of 3 big wickets, SA are still motoring along at over 4.2 runs per over.

SA 94/3 (22)

Jadeja enters the attack after the 20th over. The evergreen all-rounder starts off with a tidy over, conceding just 1 run. He is the third Indian spinner we're seeing in action today. Axar conceded runs in his short spell, while Kuldeep has been successful so far. We're yet to see Washington!

SA 87/3 (21)

A much, much better 10 overs for India. After conceding 57 runs in the opening 10, India have roared back into the game with three wickets in the next 10. Two wickets for Bumrah, one for Kuldeep. Just 29 runs for SA in this period.

SA 86/3 (20)

Lovely cover drive! Wiaan Mulder picks up his third boundary of the day, and second against Kuldeep. Too full from the left-arm wrist spinner, and it's sweetly driven by Mulder for 4. Huge responsibility on the South African vice-captain now.

SA 82/3 (18)

Left-hander Tony de Zorzi has come out to bat at No. 5. Usually a top-order batter, de Zorzi has taken a middle-order role in recent weeks. Left-right combination for SA now, but they will have to deal with a Kuldeep Yadav on song!

SA 75/3 (17)

OUT! Huge wicket! Kuldeep Yadav strikes in his second over! The left-arm wrist spinner dismisses South African captain Temba Bavuma. The ball is pitched on leg-stump, Bavuma nudges it, but the edge flies straight to leg-slip.

Shubman Gill reaps the rewards for his excellent field placement, Kuldeep shows why he's such a valuable player for India.

SA 71/3 (16)

Mohammed Siraj is back on the field, and back with the ball in his hand. The pacer experienced a tough start, but with two new batters in now, he'll be looking to fare better in his second spell. Siraj also receiving some tips from Bumrah.

Decent over from the pacer. 3 off it.

SA 69/2 (15)

7 overs, 4 maidens, 9 runs, 2 wickets. Special, special opening spell from Jasprit Bumrah. While Siraj and Axar were struggling to contain Markram and Rickelton, the No. 1 bowler in the world showed exactly why he wears the crown. 

Gill had no choice but to give a longer spell to his pace spearhead. And he delivered!

Kuldeep Yadav enters the attack, and Wiaan Mulder brings out the reverse-sweep to get 4 runs! A huge task at hand now for Mulder and SA captain Temba Bavuma, as they aim to rebuild after the loss of their openers.

SA 66/2 (14)

Another one for Bumrah! India's pace spearhead now gets the wicket of Aiden Markram! Extra bounce, short delivery, catches Markram by surprise, who ends up nicking it to Rishabh Pant. 2 wickets in 2 overs for India's pace spearhead, and both openers are now gone.

Shubman Gill reaping the rewards for making Bumrah bowl a long spell. 2/9 in 7 overs for the No. 1 bowler in the world!

SA 62/2 (13)

OUT! Clean bowled! Magnificent delivery from Jasprit Bumrah, and he knocks over Ryan Rickelton. First blood for Team India, and the South African opening charge has been ended. The ball swings back in, leaving Rickelton by surprise. Eden Gardens goes berserk!

SA 57/1 (10.3)

Aiden Markram, wow! The SA opener comes down the track and clears long-on with ease. The first maximum of the Test match! Made it look effortless. An incredible first 10 overs for the Proteas. They're going at nearly run-a-ball.

SA 57/0 (10)

50 up for the Proteas! What a fantastic start this has been. Rickelton started off with the early flourish, and now Markram has taken over. No bowler has been spared, with Siraj and Axar conceding boundaries aplenty. 

SA 51/0 (9.2)

First boundary conceded by Bumrah! Ryan Rickelton opens the face of the bat, goes for the drive, ends up getting a thick outside edge, but the ball runs away past short-third man and into the fence for a boundary.

SA 47/0 (9)

Markram getting into his groove now! Two consecutive boundaries against Axar Patel. The first one, a late cut. The second shot, a lovely drive through the covers! South Africa are going at nearly 5 runs per over in the early stages.

SA 40/0 (8)

Mohammed Siraj, after conceding 25 runs in his first 3 overs, has gone off the field! Let's hope he's not suffering from any issue. Meanwhile, Axar Patel has entered the attack. First introduction of spin by Gill.

SA 31/0 (7)

Lovely stroke! Aiden Markram has taken 23 balls to score his first runs, but he gets off the mark with a stylish straight drive. And next ball, 4 more! Exquisite cover drive! Siraj slammed for three boundaries in one over. 

SA 31/0 (6)

Ryan Rickelton is really going after Siraj in the early overs here! Once again, short and wide from Siraj and Rickelton can just free his arms and hammer it for 4 between point and cover. The left-hander has ensured that India's pacers are unable to put pressure from both ends.

SA 22/0 (5.2)

Another over, another four dots for Aiden Markram. The hero of the WTC final 2025 is currently struggling to find a run. The right-hander decides to continue blocking Bumrah. 22 balls, 0 runs! 

SA 18/0 (5)

4 overs done. Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram have endured constrasting starts so far. Rickelton has already slammed two boundaries, he's on 13 off 6. Markram is yet to score a run despite facing 18 balls!

SA 17/0 (4)

Top shot! Hint of room offered by Siraj, and Ryan Rickelton cashes in with a lovely square cut. Firmly hit, and it races away for 4. Next ball, another boundary! This time, straight down the ground. Brisk start by Rickelton - 10 off 4!

SA 14/0 (3.2)

Mohammed Siraj takes the new ball from the other end, as expected. A tidy over, just the 1 run off it. Ryan Rickelton getting off the mark first ball. Markram is yet to score any runs off the bat, he's faced 11 balls.

SA 5/0 (2)

First runs for South Africa! The ball swings away outside the off-stump, misses both batter and keeper and runs away for 4. No more runs otherwise in the over, as Markram opts for caution early doors.

SA 4/0 (1)

We are LIVE! Huge roar from the Eden Gardens as Jasprit Bumrah charges up to bowl to Aiden Markram. Ryan Rickelton at the other end for the Proteas. The first delivery swings down the leg-side.

SA 0/0 (0.1)

While we won't have to worry about India's batting for now, it will be interesting to see who bats at No. 3. Washington Sundar has been listed at that position in the visuals, and that would be a really bold call by the management. Perhaps Jurel? Maybe even Axar? 

Here come the players! Time for the national anthems. We are just about 5 minutes away from the start of action at the Eden Gardens. South Africa to bat first, while India will pin their early hopes on Bumrah and Siraj!

South Africa XI vs India: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Corbin Bosch, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj. 

Two big stars miss out for the Proteas - Kagiso Rabada and Senuran Muthusamy.

India XI vs South Africa: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

No Sai Sudharsan. Both Pant and Jurel feature. And FOUR spinners!

Three all-rounders in the Indian team, no Sai Sudharsan! Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel ALL feature! Tough luck for Sai Sudharsan, who had slammed a half-century in his previous Test.

Big decision coming up for India at No. 3!

Shubman Gill's wretched luck with the coin continues. South Africa win the toss and opt to bat. And big news! Kagiso Rabada misses out for South Africa due to a rib injury. Corbin Bosch is replacing him in the team. 

While spinners will play a big factor, don't look past the serious quality in the pace attack of both sides. India boast the No. 1-ranked Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah, alongside Mohammed Siraj. On the other hand, South Africa could come in with the superb Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder!

Right then, toss time is just around the corner. A packed out stadium is expected, as Test cricket returns to the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata for the first time in 6 years. Home heroes India taking on WTC champs South Africa - this should be a classic!

Ahead of the first Test, India's big selection dilemma lies in the choice of the third spinner. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar are almost guaranteed to feature, given their batting ability and recent good form. However, despite Kuldeep Yadav's excellent display against West Indies, Axar Patel could be selected due to his ability with the bat. 

Axar's case has been made stronger by the fact that all-rounder Nitish Reddy is no longer in line for selection for this match. A big choice ahead for captain Shubman Gill and head coach Gautam Gambhir.

WTC winners South Africa got off to a tricky start in the new 2025-27 cycle, losing their first Test against Pakistan in Pakistan. However, despite missing several key players, South Africa roared back in the second Test to clinch a 1-1 series draw.

The performance of spinners Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy in Pakistan should give the Proteas a lot of confidence ahead of their India challenge.

We are just around half an hour away from toss time at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The last time India played here was almost 6 years ago, in the first pink-ball Test to be held in India. Different conditions, different timings now. Against the WTC winners no less.

India captain Shubman Gill has the opportunity to break the record for the most centuries by an Indian Test captain in a calendar year. He currently has five this year, a feat that places him alongside Virat Kohli, who achieved the same mark twice (in 2017 and 2018). No Indian captain has ever scored six centuries in a single calendar year.

The members of the Indian team really put in a shift to preapre themselves for the a tough battle against the World Test Championship winners. Will India be able to assert their home dominance against the Proteas?

Home Test cricket 🇮🇳#TeamIndia is back in whites and ready to get the ball rolling in the #INDvSA series @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/nBk7i9nV2q

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 14, 2025

There are few venues in India that provide assistance to pacers on the opening day of a Test, let alone across multiple days. Eden Gardens, however, is one ground where seamers can exploit lateral movement and bounce for at least the first couple of days. Spinners are expected to come into play only from the third day onward. As a result, the opening Test is likely to stretch into a four or five-day contest, particularly with two top sides going head-to-head.

Three spinners and two quicks or the exact opposite, what combination will South Africa step into the Eden Gardens with?

South Africa's Likely Playing 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

Though both Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel are expected to feature in India's XI, it would be interesting to see which one among them gets to take the wicket-keeper's spot. Jurel is a better keeper, and there's no denying that. But, Pant is India's No. 1 choice behind the stumps overall.

India's Likely Playing XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah 

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. With the pacers expected to dominate proceedings over the first couple of days, India face a big decision regarding the selection of their spinners. Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Ravindra Jadeja are all competing for three spin-bowling spots in the team.

The omission of Nitish Kumar Reddy leaves India one all-rounder short for this Test. Could that mean Kuldeep finds himself on the bench once again?