IND vs SA 2nd Test: Team India Suffers Historic 408-Run Defeat, Clean Swept at Home for Second Time in a Year

The Indian cricket team has recently suffered a crushing 2-0 series defeat against South Africa in a two-match Test series. On the fifth day of the Guwahati Test, chasing a formidable target of 549 runs, the Indian team was bowled out for a mere 140 runs in their second innings, allowing South Africa to clinch the match by a massive margin of 408 runs. This loss has etched a shameful record in Indian Test history, as it's the first time in 93 years that Team India has lost a Test match by a margin exceeding 400 runs, while this outcome highlights India's consistently poor performance on home soil, where they were once considered invincible.

Historic Defeat and Home Woes

This defeat isn't just a loss of a single match but a worrying sign for Indian cricket. Over the past year, the Indian team has lost 5 out of 7 Test matches played on home ground. During this period, the team has been clean-swept twice. In October-November 2024, New Zealand defeated India 3-0 in a three-match Test series, and now South Africa has completed a 2-0 whitewash. Just a year ago, the Indian team was considered one of the strongest teams in the world on home grounds, but the situation has completely reversed. According to statistics, in the last 13 months, only the Zimbabwe team has lost more matches than India on home soil, which calls for serious introspection within Indian cricket.

Pakistan's team is generally considered weaker than India in all formats, but in the last 13 months, Pakistan has performed better than India on their home grounds. During this period, Pakistan played 7 Test matches at home, winning 4 and losing only 3. This record is Importantly better compared to India's 5 losses in 7 matches. Even more surprising is that the same South African team that clean-swept India had drawn a series 1-1 against Pakistan on their home ground just last month. Pakistan won the first match of the two-Test series, while South Africa won the second, while both Test matches were evenly contested, whereas the Indian team lost both matches against South Africa in a one-sided fashion.

Coaching Philosophy Under Scrutiny

Several reasons are being attributed to the Indian team's poor performance, one of the main being Gautam Gambhir's coaching style. Ever since Gambhir took over coaching, the team has not been performing well. In Tests, and their performance on home grounds has been even more dismal. Gambhir is giving more preference to all-rounders over specialist players, and these all-rounders are failing in both batting and bowling. In both Test matches against South Africa, the Indian team fielded only. Three specialist batsmen, clearly indicating a lack of depth in the batting lineup. This strategy raises questions about the team's balance, especially when the results aren't favorable.

Young Talent Fails to Deliver

The disappointing performance of young players is also responsible for the Indian team's poor state. In the last year, several players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Harshit Rana, Nitish Reddy, Sai Sudarshan, and Washington Sundar have failed to deliver match-winning performances at crucial moments. Speaking of the Kolkata Test, Yashasvi Jaiswal failed to score more than 20 runs in 3 out of his last 4 innings, which is concerning for an opening batsman. Meanwhile, Sai Sudarshan could only manage 15 and 14 runs in 2 innings. Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy are also not performing. Notably with both bat and ball, increasing the pressure on the team.

Struggles Against Pace and Spin

The biggest problem for the Indian team is that Indian batsmen are struggling to play both pacers and spinners effectively. Against South Africa in the series, India lost a total of 38 wickets across both Tests, with 13 wickets falling to fast bowlers and 25 to spinners, while this indicates that Indian batsmen are struggling against both types of bowling. Captain Shubman Gill couldn't play in both innings due to a neck spasm, which further weakened the batting lineup, while statistics from the past year further clarify this picture. Since October 16, 2024, Team India has lost a total of 280 wickets in home matches. Of these, 182 wickets fell to fast bowlers and 97 to spinners. On domestic pitches alone, out of 107 wickets that fell, 34 batsmen were. Dismissed against pacers and 73 against spinners, clearly demonstrating the weakness of Indian batsmen. This situation presents a major challenge for the team management and players alike.