India’s Test fortunes at home: A sharp dip and myriad concerns

Indian Test cricket is at a crossroads. A team that used to pride itself for being among the best at home has now meekly surrendered twice in three series.

The way India capitulated across two games against South Africa – by 30 runs in Kolkata and 408 in Guwahati – will cause considerable concern, for it was both out-batted and out-bowled by its opponent.

Just before the start of the home season, India indicated that it wanted to play on truer wickets. The plan, though, was jettisoned hastily after the West Indies stretched the second Test in New Delhi to day five.

It set in motion a series of events that culminated in a second series loss – the earlier one, a 0-3 reverse against New Zealand last year – in 13 months.

The decision to play on a square turner in Kolkata against the Proteas backfired, with uneven bounce and sharp turn making it a game of lottery. As the team batting second, India found itself on the wrong end of the stick.

One could cut some slack, given that Shubman Gill batted just three balls all match because of a neck sprain, an injury that also kept the skipper out of the Guwahati Test. Still, the failure of the batting unit to chase 124 on the third day was the latest proof of India’s waning competency against the turning ball.

If Kolkata was a game of margins, Guwahati laid bare deeper issues. After restricting South Africa to 247 for six on day one, Rishabh Pant’s men let the game drift away. The Indian tweakers looked flat when the pitch did not play tricks, and lacked the guile to create chances.

Next, it was the batters’ turn to disappoint. In reply to South Africa’s 489, India, from 95 for one collapsed to 122 for seven. Once a 288-run lead was conceded, the game was heading only one way.

Deficiency in skills aside, a broader discussion about selection is warranted. The team’s obsession with all-rounders at the cost of specialist batters and the constant shuffling in the crucial No.3 slot proved to be missteps.

Even as the India faithful focus on the home side’s inadequacies, it would be a great disservice to underplay South Africa’s achievement.

The inspirational Temba Bavuma led from the front in Kolkata with a brilliant half-century on a minefield. He played the perfect foil to Simon Harmer, a 36-year-old with only 12 Tests under his belt until then, who proved the difference with eight wickets in the contest.

In the era of the DRS, where spinners prefer to be quicker so that they can target the pads and stumps, Harmer showed that beating the batter in the air can still be a powerful weapon. The South African spinners outbowled their Indian counterparts – 25 wickets to 21, with Harmer alone accounting for 17.

In early 2021, South Africa’s cricketing strength came under the scanner after the team had slipped to seventh in the ICC rankings, having lost five of the seven series from July 2018.

However, Bavuma’s men have shown that periods of success and failure are cyclic. South Africa is well and truly back on track. India is on a downhill slope.