India set a target of 124 runs to win the first Test at Eden Gardens after South Africa were bowled out for 153 in 54 overs on the first session of Day 3.
Veteran left‑arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja led India’s attack, taking 4 for 50. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj added the remaining three wickets, ending the innings with a tidy finish.
South Africa’s captain, Temba Bavuma, rode a solid unbeaten 55 in the first innings, his first half‑century in the series. He and opener Corbin Bosch built a 44‑run partnership that pushed the visitors’ score from a 63‑run lead to 123 on a tricky wicket.
India can push for a record win at Eden Gardens – the highest run chase in the venue’s history – but will do so sans skipper Shubman Gill, who has been ruled out for the rest of the match after a neck injury.
During the second innings, Bavuma and Bosch added 27 runs in the first half‑hour, with Bavuma showing calm defense and a few bold strokes. He finished on 55 not out, his seventh fifty‑plus score in eleven Tests, much to fans’ delight.
Siraj delivered a decisive burst, capturing Simon Harmer’s wicket with a length ball and then taking Keshav Maharaj leg‑before‑wicket with a yorker.
India’s 189 runs to South Africa’s 159 in the first innings gave them a 123‑run lead. With a mastodont chase left ahead, India will need the bowlers to defend a modest target while sprucing up the batting after Gill’s injury leaves a gap at the top of the order.
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