South Africa celebrate a wicket during the World Test Championship final against Australia on 13 June 2025 at Lords. (Photo: Paul Harding / Gallo Images) 
South Africa will need to claim a few big scalps if they are to defend their World Test Championship (WTC) title. It starts with their series against India – with the first Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata – after starting their campaign with a tied 1-1 series against Pakistan last month.
Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad is not intimidated by the challenge. “We’re quietly confident that we can make history of our own here in Eden Gardens and in [the other venues in] India,” he said.
The current WTC cycle presents several new challenges that the team’s previous successful one did not. Last time, the Proteas’ three away tours comprised travelling to New Zealand (a series they essentially waived), West Indies and Bangladesh. Apart from sending a severely depleted side to New Zealand, series wins against West Indies and Bangladesh were expected from the Proteas.
Their home fixtures were against India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. South Africa tied their series 1-1 with India before whitewashing Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
All three subcontinent teams are much harder to play in the turning conditions of Asia than they are on the fast, bouncy wickets of South Africa. As the schedule would have it, South Africa’s away encounters in the continuing WTC cycle are against all three aforementioned subcontinent teams.
Their home fixtures aren’t any easier either, as they welcome England (three matches), Australia (three) and Bangladesh (two) to South African shores next year.
Australia and England – with their proficiency on harder surfaces, which are ideal for fast bowling – are expected to pose a significant challenge, particularly compared with their previous fixtures.
“This series is massive if we want to be in the money at the end of the race,” Conrad said about South Africa’s WTC campaign. “We have England [home], Australia [home] and Sri Lanka away next year, so all tough series.
“It will be great to get there again, because everybody who said we didn’t deserve to get there previously can now say, well maybe they do deserve to be in the big [three] or whatever number that is. This is massive for us.”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2219206217.jpg "Shukri Conrad. (Photo: Paul Harding / Gallo Images)")
South Africa’s focus is on the present moment, however, as they try not to look too far ahead. “We’re not even looking at the World Test Championship, we’re looking at delivering a performance that can make history for us,” Conrad said. “I can’t remember when last we won a Test match here, or even a series. That’s the biggest thing for us.”
WTC cycle
The two countries with the highest percentage of points over two years of Test cricket progress to the WTC final. Last year that was South Africa and Australia. Six points are awarded for a win, four for a draw and zero for a loss. The number of points a team accumulates in a WTC cycle is then turned into a percentage based on how many matches that team has played. This means teams that play a fewer number of matches aren’t penalised for accumulating fewer points. South Africa won eight of the 12 matches they played and Australia collected 13 wins from their 19 matches.
Across the three seasons that the WTC has been taking place, historically, a win percentage close to 70 is necessary to make the final. Even at this early stage of the WTC cycle, winning at least one match against India will be important for the Proteas to maintain a grip on their finals aspirations.
South Africa need to claim victories even when they aren’t favourites. The side is fully aware that this challenge won’t be easy against India on their home turf. “I don’t think you can compare the quality of the sides we’ve played against to India,” Conrad said. “This will be our biggest challenge, certainly in my 20 matches [I’ve led the side]. I don’t think there’s been a bigger challenge. Yes, we had the [WTC] final against Australia that we won, which was massive. I compare this series and this match to that final. That’s how big it is for us.”
The last time South Africa won a series in India was 25 years ago, when a Hansie Cronje side led the Proteas to a 2-0 win after victories in Wankhede and Bengaluru.
The last time South Africa played a Test series in India in 2019, they were whitewashed 3-0, with each defeat in that series more emphatic than the one before – by 203 runs, by an innings and 103 runs, and by an innings and 202 runs. There was another 3-0 hammering in 2015 – with only current captain Temba Bavuma being a survivor from that group – in a four-match series.
South Africa’s last single Test match victory in India came in 2009 when they drew the series 1-1 but clinched victory at Eden Gardens – the venue of their first Test now – thanks to inspired performances by Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla.
Big series
The Test series is littered with some of the best cricketers in the world, including Jasprit Bumrah for India and Kagiso Rabada for South Africa – both widely regarded as the premier fast bowlers in the global game. The spin-bowling departments of both sides – with the wickets promising to take a fair share of turn like in Pakistan – are also mouthwatering.
India have selected a quartet of excellent spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. South Africa boast two of the best the country has produced in Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, with Senuran Muthusamy providing more than adequate cover.
“There are so many battles within the Test match, within this big war,” Conrad explained.
South Africa also welcomed back regular skipper Bavuma, who missed out in Pakistan after a calf injury. Conrad stressed the importance of having the best batter in the team back. “Temba is massive for us, he’s our best player. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “Which makes winning a Test match in Pakistan so much better for us, as we were able to do it without our best player.”
South Africa will need their best players to perform to the peak of their powers – like Steyn and Amla before them – to claim a Test victory in the country for the first time in 16 years and continue their back-to-back WTC final goal. DM
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
