Test cricket will make a return at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata after a long gap of six years when the Indian team take on South Africa in the first game of the two-match series, starting from November 14. The last time a Test match was played at this venue was in 2019 when the inaugural pink ball match in the country was played between India and Bangladesh.
India had won the game.
Test cricket at Eden Gardens started in 1934, when India hosted England in a drawn encounter. Since then, this venue hosted 42 Tests with India winning 13 and lost nine. The remaining 20 matches ended in draws. The India vs South Africa Test series 2025 holds a special significance.
The Proteas have never won a Test series in India since 1999-2000 and this series gives the Temba Bavuma-led world Test champions to turn the tables. To add more to that, the IND vs SA Test series is a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle with crucial points on the line.
How many Tests South Africa played in Kolkata?
Statistically, South Africa have played at the Eden Gardens only thrice in history, winning just one game and losing twice. The Proteas first played at Eden Gardens in 1996 when Gary Kirsten’s twin hundreds powered the visitors to a mammoth 329-run win over the hosts.
The South Africans returned to Kolkata for the second time in 2004. In a riveting contest that went till the final day, Harbhajan Singh grabbed the limelight with his seven-wicket haul in the second innings, thus paving the way for India’s emphatic eight-wicket victory.