India's big test of new habits in old-school Kolkata

Kolkata sometimes feels like a merry millennial on a long nostalgia trip – a sepia-tinted city that hit pause sometime in the 90s and remains determined in its refusal to let modernity seep in fully.

Old habits are immortalised here. The tram, for example, still rattles through the city's veins, 123 years after it was first electrified. Nowhere else in the country will you find it active anymore.

Fittingly, the Indian team now stands on the edge of its first real test since doing something very un-Kolkata-like – letting go of an old habit of producing raging turners.

There will, of course, be spin here, but it is unlikely to make its presence felt from the first morning. That phase of play should have fast bowlers licking their lips and taking the stage. That's the real Eden Gardens heritage. Suranga Lakmal of 2017 will attest to it, as will Matt Henry of 2016. Just last month, Mohammed Shami picked 15 wickets in four Ranji innings for Bengal here.

For all of South Africa's recent spin tendencies too, their only two Test wins in India since 2001 have come when Dale Steyn took matters into his own hands. Kagiso Rabada would love to step in those shoes, even as Temba Bavuma considers picking a spin trio in Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer.

Eden Gardens offers an air of intrigue to the conditions awaiting two teams at different stages of their journeys. India, new and confident, are chasing points that will edge them towards a third WTC final. South Africa, meanwhile, are upbeat and recently-revitalised by that mace currently gracing their trophy cabinet.

When: India vs South Africa, 1st Test, November 14-18 2025, 9:30 AM IST

Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

What to expect: Some help for the quicks early on? That's what both captains seem to believe heading into the fixture.

This iconic venue has been starved of Test cricket. The last one here was India's pink-ball game against Bangladesh in 2019. The previous red-ball Test came two years earlier as India's dramatic draw against Sri Lanka in 2017.

India's seam-bowling all-rounder project has been put on the backburner, as India have released Nitish Reddy from the first Test squad. Rishabh Pant will take his place in the XI.

Probable XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

After the highs of Rawalpindi, there's genuine excitement in the visitors camp about unleashing spin in India. One day out from the game, South Africa's WTC-winning captain Temba Bavuma, who returns after missing the Pakistan tour, is keeping his selection cards close to his chest.

Probable XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada

Key Milestones:

• Shubman Gill has the chance to break the record for most centuries by an Indian Test captain in a calendar year (currently 5 in 2025)
• Kagiso Rabada is 10 away from 350 Test wickets
• Ravindra Jadeja is 10 runs away from becoming the fourth cricketer to achieve the double of 4000 runs and 300 wickets in Tests
• Temba Bavuma has joint-most wins in first 10 Tests as captain (9)

Quotes:

"I cherish a lot of memories here [Eden Gardens]. My IPL career started there and this is one ground whenever I come to, I definitely feel like how I feel at the PCA stadium in Punjab. It is a similar feeling whenever I come here." – Shubman Gill

"We haven't finalised the team but it's all those different considerations. The ball does seem to swing here in Kolkata probably a little bit more than what we are accustomed to playing in India. So there's obviously the consideration of the extra pacer, but obviously in the subcontinent as well, you want to make sure that you have the resources from a spin point of view." – Temba Bavuma