South Africa tour of India 2025 | First Test | Preview and Predictions

The Indian home season kicks off as Shubman Gill & Co host South Africa for a lengthy series across all formats. The Proteas tour begins with a two-Test series, the first of which will take place at the iconic Eden Gardens, marking its first red-ball game of this decade.

The reigning World Test Champions are arriving on the back of a multi-format series in Pakistan and will be looking to test the young and relatively inexperienced Indian squad.

For the first Test, here we present our preview and predictions.

South Africa tour of India 2025 | IND vs SA | 1st Test | 09:30 IST, November 14–18

The hosts come into this series on the back of a white-ball tour of Australia. Shubman Gill has now had one ODI series under his belt as captain, and while it did not go as well as he might have hoped, the 26-year-old can take heart from how his Test reign has begun, with a series draw in England and a win at home against the West Indies. 

India boast a strong top order comprising the likes of the explosive Yashasvi Jaiswal and the ever-reliable KL Rahul alongside captain Gill, the latter having been in a purple patch in the red-ball format. The middle and lower orders are weaker in comparison, however, with Rishabh Pant at No. 5 returning from a lengthy injury lay-off, Ravindra Jadeja coming in at No. 6, and handy all-rounder Washington Sundar lower down the order. There is a spot open at No. 7 for someone like Nitish Kumar Reddy, should the team feel the need to strengthen their batting line-up. Dhruv Jurel, who is coming into the series on the back of twin centuries in the warm-up game, is expected to play as a batter, with Pant keeping the gloves. Jurel will most likely replace Reddy, leaving room for only two seamers in the playing XI.

The Indian bowling unit practically picks itself right now, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj coming in as the frontline seamers alongside the spin trio of Jadeja, Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav. Should India go with Reddy, they’ll have another seam bowling option, but that is unlikely on a pitch that is expected to slow down.

South Africa, on the other hand, have a promising squad led by Temba Bavuma. The top order has the experienced Aiden Markram alongside Tony de Zorzi and Ryan Rickleton, who opened with Markram in Pakistan. Talented youngster Tristan Stubbs is set to play his first Test and will be key for the Proteas, coming in at No. 5 in the batting order.

With the ball, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen are set to lead the pace attack. The Proteas are also expected to play at least two spinners in Keshav Maharaj and Senuran Muthusamy. Simon Harmer, who had a solid time in Pakistan, will likely be the third spinner in Kolkata. He is also more than handy with the bat.

Hosting its first international Test match in almost six years, the black-soil Eden Gardens pitch is expected to be a slow one and should provide true bounce to bowlers, which the seamers thrive on. Batting should become more difficult as the game progresses. We expect India to start the series with a win, given their stronger attack across all disciplines.

Fantasy XI: KL Rahul, Aiden Markram, Shubman Gill (c), Temba Bavuma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Marco Jansen, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj

Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Winners Prediction: India