South Africa head coach Sukri Conrad sparked a major controversy following Day 4 of the ongoing second and final Test of the series against India at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday, November 25. The Proteas once again dominated the match, putting Team India under immense pressure to avoid a series defeat or a whitewash.

South Africa batters made Indian bowlers, especially spinners, toil hard throughout the penultimate day of the Guwahati Test as the visitors declared their second innings at 260/5, with Tristan Stubbs top scoring with 94, and set a 549-run target for India to chase. At Day 4 stumps, South Africa were on the front foot after restricting the hosts to 27/2 in 15.5 overs, leaving India a monumental task, needing 522 runs to win, with just one day left to avoid a series whitewash.

After winning the first Test at Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, South Africa are now aiming for a win in the Guwahati Test to register their first red-ball series win on Indian soil.

'We Wanted Them to Grovel'

As South Africa are on the verge of a historic Test series win in India, head coach Shukri Conrad sparked a massive controversy with his remark against Team India. Speaking at the press conference after Day 4, Conrad highlighted the Proteas' dominant performance against India in India by using the term 'grovel'.

“We wanted India to spend as much time on their feet out in the field. We wanted them to really grovel, to steal a phrase, bat them completely out of the game and then say to them welcome and survive on the last day and an hour this evening,” the South Africa coach told reporters in Guwahati.

South Africa's Coach Shukri Conrad said - "We wanted India to really grovel". (RevSportz). twitter/kNruwaQsl4

- Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) November 25, 2025

The term 'grovel' first emerged when England captain Tony Greig used it during the 1976 series against West Indies, which became quite a controversial statement, given the racial dynamism of the era and sport's colonial history. However, Greig's remark completely backfired as West Indies, led by Clive Lloyd, dominated England and clinched the series 3-0.

The controversial term used by Tony Greig 49 years ago came to the spotlight after Shukri Conrad invoked it to describe South Africa's dominant position over India in the ongoing second and final Test of the series in Guwahati.

How Fans Reacted to Shukri Conrad's 'Grovel' Remark

Shukri Conrad's 'grovel' remark to describe South Africa's dominant performance against Team India sparked debates over the use of over the insensitive use of a racially and historically loaded term.

Taking to their X handles (formerly Twitter), a section of fans and cricket enthusiasts found the term used to describe India toiling hard against dominant South Africa as 'provocative' and a regrettable revival of a racially and historically charged phrase. While others argued that Conrad's statement was more about asserting dominance in a competitive context than invoking historical racial connotations.

Imagine if an Indian or a gora coach has used that grovel word after beating Sa in Sa. Life goes around in circles, remember Shukri Conrad. Congrats on your monumental victory, you totally outplayed us, but remember this comment will come back to bite you in the future.

- tea_addIct (@on_drive2306) November 25, 2025

Tony Greig in 1976. Shukri Conrad in 2025. The word 'grovel'

- Subhayan Chakraborty (@CricSubhayan) November 25, 2025

Tony Greig - 1976, to West Indies team "I intend to make them grovel"South African Coach Shukri Conrad - 2025, to Indian team "We wanted them to really grovel"50 years apart, both South Africans, both racists.#India #SouthAfrica #INDvsSA #WTC27 twitter/6GYUesZeT8

- Krishna Kant Sharma (@krishnakant_75) November 25, 2025

What is it with South Africans wanting to make others grovel? Did Shukri Conrad really make this comment? If the same had been said by Gambhir, this could have got into a racial argument twitter/TDTb2ks0t9

- Kartik Kannan (@kartik_kannan) November 25, 2025

South African head coach Shukri Conrad saying“We wanted India to grovel” in the press conference is a huge misstep. Grovel carries a long history of deeply offensive, racial undertones. Maybe a slip of the tongue, but a costly one.

- Gargi Raut (@gargiraut15) November 25, 2025

Gambhir's tenure is temporary, memories of this statement is permanent.A day will come when Indian will pummel South Africa in their home. I hope Shukri Conrad will be there to watch it live. Dhananjay (@Dhaanu) November 25, 2025

I hope that Shukri Conrad's statement turns out to be for India what Harsha Bhogle's tweet led to for South Africa.

- Arjun (@LifeIsAnElation) November 25, 2025

Shukri Conrad's 'grovel' comment can best be classified as a sledge. Not to be compared to Tony Greig's 1976 comment- different times, different context. Calling the latest utterance insulting or racist is a classic piece of overstatement.

- Nikhil Naz (@NikhilNaz) November 25, 2025

I think it's kinda of obvious that Shukri Conrad didn't mean it in a racial context? His team is on the brink of an unprecedented win in Asia. Across BAN, Pak and IND, they'll have whitewashed two of them, having won 5/6 tests's earned his chance to talk smack. AC (@KachraPress) November 25, 2025

Last time someone used the word 'grovel' in an interview didn't work well for him and his team. Let's see how things pan out this time. Unlike Tony Greig, Shukri Conrad is lucky that he won't face the wrath of his words on the field. Should apologise immediately.#indvssa

- Hiren Keshvani (@keshvani_hiren) November 25, 2025

South Africa, the land of Nelson Mandela and also Mahatma Gandhi, suffered so much due to apartheid. A South African should be the last one to say:“We wanted them (India) to grovel.”Maybe Mr Conrad didn't mean the racial undertone. Hope so

- Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) November 25, 2025

If cricketing gods are there, SA team and Shukri Conrad will pay for using the racial slur grovel against our team. If our team has an ounce of shame, they'll stand up tomorrow and fight.

- DS (@dungarjal_ds) November 25, 2025

Meanwhile, India are currently on the verge of its second consecutive Test series whitewash at home. Last year, Team India suffered a 3-0 Test series whitewash at the hands of New Zealand, marking the end of their dominance in red-ball at home.

With 522 needed to win on Day 5, Team India has an arduous task at hand to chase down a record target of 549, a feat never achieved in the history of Test cricket, making South Africa clear favourites to seal a historic series victory in India.

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