Shifting Expectations at Home
Until last year, teams visiting India for a Test series used to get defeated by huge margins. That conviction changed when New Zealand got a 3-0 victory over India. Most fans saw that defeat as an aberration and expected India to regain their strong home record. The defeat at the hands of South Africa this time has brought into question the team's quality, decision-making, and tactical planning. A doubt remains over whether India would be able to restore their old statures on home pitches.
End of a Long Home Streak
For many years, India did not lose a Test series in their home conditions. That streak was broken by New Zealand last year as they swept a three-match series. For long, the critics said that India used spin-friendly pitches which, while aiding the local bowlers, troubled teams from outside the subcontinent. The Indian offies usually did well and the Indian batters were better equipped against spin compared to the visiting teams. But those plans went astray during the New Zealand series, as they better utilized the same pitches. Fans hope India learned from that experience. India did well recently against a fairly weaker West Indies team, but the loss against South Africa again exposed how the current generation struggles against quality spin.
Pitch Balance and Its Influence
This match again highlighted the fact that India cannot depend on just very heavily spin-oriented pitches. There used to be balanced pitches that helped India. Those wickets supported batters for the first two days, assisted pacers to a certain degree, and allowed spin to develop from the third day. That balance is missing now. At Eden Gardens, the ball spun sharply and kicked more than expected on the second day, which troubled batters. By the third day, it was the spinners all the way. One of the factors coming out of this defeat is India's relative weakness against quality spin bowling. Both New Zealand and South Africa came with powerful spin attacks and used India's favored pitch conditions better than India itself. India now needs to think twice about preparing extreme spin wickets and has to ensure pitches offer fair help to both batting and bowling. Indian batters need much more practice against spin, too.
Selection and Strategy Errors For the game, India picked four spinners and reduced one player in the batting lineup, which pushed the important Sai Sudarshan out of the final XI at No. 3. Eventually, the team struggled with one fewer specialist batter and captain Shubman Gill not available to bat. Washington Sundar was picked as a spin all-rounder but bowled only one over in the game. If he was not needed as a bowler, the selectors should have picked one more specialist batter, which would have served the purpose much better. This kind of selection methodology cost India a precious stability. Underestimation of Opponent's Spin Strength There seems to be a pattern where India keeps underestimating the spin quality of visiting sides. Last year, they misjudged it when New Zealand came, and this year they repeated that mistake with the South Africans. Before landing in India, South Africa played a Test series in Pakistan where Simon Harmer picked 13 wickets and Keshav Maharaj was equally good. Those performances should have served as a warning to India about the threat. Instead, the team prepared another heavy spin pitch without adjusting to the strengths of the opponent. What India decides on preparing pitches and in team composition for the second Test remains to be seen.
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