'Can't take South Africa lightly, they beat Australia at WTC final' - India not taking Proteas casually ahead of Kolkata Test

Published - 12 Nov 2025, 17:25 IST | Updated - 12 Nov 2025, 17:43 IST

India and South Africa will be squaring off against each other in the first Test of the upcoming two-match series. The opening game will be played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata from November 14 and for the hosts, the challenge is going to be huge, as they will be facing the current World Test Championship winners in a bid to secure their own place for the next final in 2027.

India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has acknowledged the firepower that the Temba Bavuma-led side possesses. He credited the Proteas for their win against a top-ranked team like Australia in the WTC Final 2025, where they won their maiden ICC title. With a lot of good spinners like Senuran Muthusamy and Keshav Maharaj in the mix for the visiting side, ten Doeschate feels the contest will be a tempting one.

"South Africa deserve a lot of credit for how they've gone about their work in the last sort of nine, ten months. You know, the position they found themselves in the WTC. And they show that they are a quality team to beat Australia at the final. Also, the mention of how a prototype they are as a spin attack makes even more mouthwatering, if you want to put it that way, to be playing them at home," ten Doeschate said at the pre-match press conference.

Ten Doeschate also said that India's own WTC cycle depends on every match and every series that they play. The Shubman Gill-led side is currently ranked third on the points table, having won four out of their seven games thus far. South Africa, on the other hand, have played only a couple of Tests in the current cycle, maintaining their points' percentage (PCT) at 50.00. They are ranked fifth on the table.

Looking at latest WTC table after PAK's 93-run win vs SA

"But also the WTC is just so important. There's no series that you can just take lightly and let slip by. And obviously in the context of a World Cup coming up in a couple of months and managing the three formats, I'd say this is as important as anything else. And obviously a very big step to us achieving getting to the World Test Championship final in 2027. So yeah, everyone's looking forward to it. It should be a great contest," ten Doeschate said further.

While the first Test will be played at the iconic venue of Eden Gardens, the action will move to Guwahati for the second and final game of the series, as the Barsapara Stadium will be making its debut as a Test venue. The Guwahati Test will begin on November 22.