South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad said he was impressed to see his spinners dominate India in the opening Test at the Eden Gardens, a performance he believes marks a shift in how the team approaches cricket in the subcontinent. Their 30-run victory in Kolkata on Sunday, achieved on a rotating surface, gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the two-match series and revived their hopes of securing a rare winning streak in India.
South Africa beat India on their own terms to claim theirs the country’s first Test win in over 15 years. Their only previous series triumph in India came under Hansie Cronje in 2000 and Conrad said spin was now central to their ambition to end the long wait for another.
“We are excited to come here to the subcontinent with a quality pack of spinners. We were always greedy when we came to the subcontinent. I think it was also a mindset change that you have to start showing your faith in the bowlers,” Conrad said during the post-match media interaction.
He added that South Africa’s performance could inspire a move back home. “I think it will do wonders for our game as well because the youngsters now see that there is a straight line, that we are interested in spinners too. It is not just a fast bowling country.”
The development of the spin in South Africa began their tour of Pakistan where they batted with three companies. Senuran Muthusamy, the player of the series with 11 wickets, is currently the third player in the squad but was absent in Kolkata due to the conditions.
“The dark experiences teams have come in here. The mentality right now is that while we may not have the ability that a lot of teams have, we haven’t used that ability yet. What we lack in that, we’ll definitely make up for in the ability to play as a unit,” Conrad said.
He lined up the Eden Gardens win alongside their World Cup Test triumph at Lord’s earlier this year, highlighting the demands of the competitions in India. “I said it again a few days ago, we won the Test World Cup final earlier in the year against Australia at Lord’s.
“We never give up. I’m so proud of that group down there. The belief they have and how they pull together as a unit. It’s going to do wonders for our psyche. It’s going to do wonders for us going forward.”
Conrad emphasized that the bigger goal is still ahead. “We won a Test match in Pakistan. Now we’ve won a Test match here. But the job is far from done. You don’t come to the country to win a Test match. You obviously want to win the series.”
Looking ahead to the second Test, he said, “Guwahati will present its own challenges. I am quite confident and quietly confident that we will be up to the task there as well.”
Conrad praised Temba Bavuma is 55 unbeaten in the second innings which set the defense on target for 124. “First of all, I said it at Temba two days before the Test match, to have our best player back is very reassuring for us, it brings peace of mind.”
Bavum’s innings came after his return from a calf injury he sustained following the WTC finals in June. “He’s been one of the best players in the world over the last 18 months to 24 months and he showed that again this morning and yesterday afternoon. He was clear about how he wanted to do it and he went against everyone else’s grain in the game.”
“That was the difference between the two sides, Tembo’s innings, his partnership with (Corbin Bosch) Boshi this morning, I thought that was immense and gave us something we felt we could defend.
GOOD LUCK FOR HARMER
Veteran off-spinner Simon Harmer took an 8-wicket haul to secure the Player of the Match award and continue his impressive return to international cricket. Conrad said the turning point came when Harmer approached him earlier this year.
“When Simon called me a few months ago and said he was desperate to play for South Africa again, I was more desperate to have him back.
With 13 wickets in South Africa, Harmer was Pakistan’s second-highest wicket-taker and is now a key part of their plans for the subcontinent.
Conrad was also asked about the first-day stumping incident where Jasprit Bumrah referred to Bavuma as “bauna”, a Hindi term associated with dwarfism. Bumrah later walked over to Bavum after the match and gave him a warm hug.
Conrad only said, “Fortunately, he has the heart of a giant. We’ll leave it at that.”
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
November 17, 2025
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