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

Following South Africa’s incredible win at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India are on the back foot and looking to avoid another whitewash at home.

The Men in Blue are also sweating on the fitness of their captain, Shubman Gill, and will have an uphill task in Guwahati to level the series. This is also the first time Guwahati hosts an international Test match, which means both teams are heading into the unknown for the series decider.

For this game, here we present our preview and predictions.

South Africa tour of India 2025 | IND vs SA | 2nd Test | 09:30 IST, November 22–26

From being in a prime position to take the win at the Eden Gardens, Team India suffered an incredible batting collapse to go 0–1 down in the series. Their inability to bat against spinners isn’t a current worry; it has been a persisting issue for many years, dating back to Virat Kohli’s captaincy.

Indian batters continue struggling massively against the turning ball, and the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant look woefully out of place. With Shubman Gill more or less ruled out of the second Test, India will have to fill in the No. 4 spot. It will come down to Devdutt Padikkal or Sai Sudharsan, while the onus will once again fall on KL Rahul at the top of the order to shoulder more responsibility and bat deep alongside an inexperienced lineup. 

In Kolkata, India went with four spinners. It is unlikely they will go with the same combination in Guwahati and may bring in someone like Nitish Kumar Reddy, who will not only provide an extra batting option but also back Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the seam department. Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Kuldeep Yadav will be the frontline spinners once again, despite the Guwahati pitch not being as big a turner as the one in Kolkata. 

South Africa, meanwhile, will come to Guwahati high on confidence. They were 93/7 on Day 2 in the opening Test before captain Temba Bavuma dug deep and pulled them out of a hole. Like India, the Proteas also struggled on a tough turning pitch, and if it weren’t for a match-turning partnership by Bavuma and Corbin Bosch for the eighth wicket, the game would have turned out differently.

The South African batters — in particular the ones at the top — all got starts in the first innings. The likes of Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, and Tony de Zorzi would have liked to register big scores, though they won’t be too worried as conditions will improve in Guwahati. Moreover, South Africa bat deep, with Bosch at No. 10 having recently shown that he’s no mug with the bat.

With the ball, Simon Harmer turned out to be the chief wrecker for South Africa, with his off-spin plucking eight wickets to turn the match in his team’s favour. With Kagiso Rabada injured, Marco Jansen led the pace attack alongside Bosch and Mulder. With Rabada still uncertain, South Africa have brought in Lungi Ngidi to the squad; we may see a more pace-focused attack from the visitors in the second Test.

Guwahati is hosting its first-ever Test, which means both teams come into this game uncertain about the pitch conditions. After the debacle at the Eden Gardens, it is unlikely that we get another rank-turner, so the Guwahati strip should bring about runs and assistance to seamers. We expect the hosts to bounce back to tie up the series here.

Fantasy XI: Aiden Markram, KL Rahul (c), Washington Sundar, Temba Bavuma, Wiaan Mulder, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Marco Jansen, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Keshav Maharaj

Venue: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Winners Prediction: India