India, after being shockingly whitewashed at home by New Zealand last year, suffered another humiliating series sweep at the hands of South Africa on Wednesday (November 25).
The hosts lost the second Test in Guwahati by a huge margin of 408 runs to concede the series 0-2 to Proteas, who ended their 25-year drought for a Test series win in India.
After the game, India’s stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant admitted that they were outplayed by Temba Bavuma-led side in the two-match series.
“Definitely it's a little disappointing, you know, but as a team we need to get better. And you've got to give credit to the opposition that they played better cricket than us. Because, you know, in a series like this, which has already been tough if you dwell too much, you've got to take the learning and stick as a team,” Pant said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Definitely they dominated the series, but at the same time you can't take cricket for granted. You're playing at home, but at the same time we need to be clear with our mindset. And there were moments in the game where we were up on the team, but we didn't capitalise it as a team. But, you know, in future we're going to get better, learn from it and get better from it,” he added.
India lost the opening Test in Kolkata by 30 runs, failing to chase a modest target of 124 on a crumbling surface.
While the pitch used for the second Test was completely flat, Indian batters once again let the team down as their two innings folded for 201 and 140.
“They played better cricket, but at the same time, you know, in cricket you can't take anything for granted. You can play at home or away, but at the same time, you know, cricket demands that determination and that extra. And there are moments in the game where you need to capitalise as a team, as a batting unit. But as a team we didn't capitalise on those enough for a longer period of time, and that cost us the whole series,” Pant remarked.
Reflecting on the positives from the series, the wicketkeeper-batter said: “I think the positive will be focusing in our own plan, and we need to be better with that. That's the only thing we're going to take from it.”
