Second whitewash at home: India surrenders to South Africa

A clueless Indian team, which seemed lacking in both skills and resolve, succumbed to its biggest defeat in terms of runs, losing the second Test to South Africa by a whopping margin of 408 on Wednesday, giving the visitors their first series triumph in the country in 25 years.

This was the second time in a space of a mere 13 months that India ended up whitewashed at home, severely denting their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final. Under head coach Gautam Gambhir, India have now lost five Tests against New Zealand and South Africa at home.

A chase of 549 was never possible, but what one expected was a semblance of fight, which wasn’t there on a day five Indian track presenting itself in all its might on which the ball bounced like a hissing snake and turned as if on a hairpin Himalayan bend.

Marco Jansen, who played the perfect all-rounder in this Test match, took a one-handed stunner to skittle India for 140 in 63.5 overs and give the Temba Bavuma-led side a victory to cherish for a long time.

“It’s little disappointing. As a team we need to get better. We need to give credit to the opposition. They dominated the series but at the same time, you can’t take cricket for granted (because of playing at home),” said a downcast India skipper Rishabh Pant in the post-match presentation, trying to make sense of his team’s recent home record.

Courtesy Gambhir’s inexplicable tactics and selection calls, the aura of invincibility that once accompanied the team at home lay in tatters at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on a slightly nippy Wednesday afternoon.

But the man was his usual combative self in the aftermath. “I am the same guy who got you results in England and was coach for Champions Trophy,” he asserted in the post-match press conference. “You don’t blame any individual or any particular shot. Blame lies with everyone. I never blamed individuals and won’t do it going forward,”he added.

Off-spinner Simon Harmer’s career got a second wind as he decimated the Indian team with turn, bounce and zip off the same surface on which home bowlers looked pedestrian. Once Pant (13) was dismissed failing to counter the bounce, the writing was on the wall.

“I have been coming to India but never thought that we will walk away with a 2-0 series win,” an expectedly delighted Bavuma said later. The likes of Sai Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel and Nitish Reddy, which is the new brigade in Test cricket simply didn’t have enough preparation to read a spinner from his hands.

Sudharsan scored 14 in 139 balls but was about to be dismissed about six times and looked like getting out to every delivery. His lack of readiness was the buck that would stop at Gambhir’s door for his poor choice of personnel.

Gambhir’s obsession with bits and pieces cricketers in the traditional format has left them team in a flux with none of the players sure about their places and roles in the team. The impact of this defeat will have far reaching implications in terms of confidence and pysche of the red-ball team going forward.

It wasn’t an easy pitch to survive on but the poor technique was disappointing along with the inability to read the drift, not playing with a soft bottom hand and a completely non-existent backfoot play. Only Ravindra Jadeja (53) walked the talk when it came to putting up a good fight but there was no one at the other end to help the veteran.

 In the end, lack of planning was evident and for the time, India look easily conquerable at home. India’s Ravindra Jadeja during the fifth day of the second Test cricket match between India and South Africa, at ACA Stadium, Barsapara in Guwahati.