Here's a look at three glaring mistakes India, the two-time ICC World Test Championship finalists, made during their humiliating defeat against South Africa in the Boxing Day Test
Despite Virat Kohli waging a lone battle on day 3 of the First SA vs IND Boxing Day Test in Centurion, Indian cricket team capitulated in specatacular fashion as they lost by an innings and 32 runs to hand the Proteas a memorable win as India's dream of capturing the 'final frontier' in the 'Rainbow Nation' goes on. (Scorecard | Full Coverage)
KL Rahul stood tall in the 1st innings with a brilliant 101 but other batters around him failed as India collapsed on 245 with the home side racking up 408 in reply.
Well, below are some of the factors that led to India's downfall at Centurion. Let's go through some:
1) Team India's Lack Of Practice
First and foremost, Indian cricket team did not play a single practice match before the Test series. Indian team or the BCCI does arrange for a practice match especially on foreign tours but talking about South Africa, there was no reason whatsoever of not scheduling a practice game ahead of the 1st Test. The reason - India's batting was exposed as the Proteas ripped through the Indian batting. The conditions were alien for some of the faces in the Indian as they lost the match by an innings and 32 runs at Centurion.
2) Fingers Should Be Pointed At Team Selection
With the defeat, the Indian cricket team's selection for the Centurion Test should come under scanner. Fragile middle-order and the bowling attack sans Mohammed Shami looked weak and wayward. Newbie Prasidh Krishna bowled way too many 'hit me' balls whereas Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur lacked the cutting edge. With Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara shunted from the national team, their absence was clearly felt as the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill could not cope with the South African conditions as they perished to the bowling.
ALSO READ: IND Vs RSA: Avesh Khan In Test Squad
3) Total Flop From The Indian Stars
Former England cricket team wasn't mincing any words when called Team India the 'most underacheiving sports team in the world'. "Do you think, in terms of cricket, India are one of the most underachieving sports teams in the world," Vaughan was quoted on Australian broadcaster.
"They haven't won much in recent times. I think they are (an underachieving side). They don't win anything. When was the last time they won something? With all the talent they have, all the skill-set (they should have achieved more," said Vaughan.
Well, the Englishman's words did come to fruition as Team India winded up in three days against South Africa in the Centurion Test. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, etc were well-rested post the World Cup but the lack of match practice was there to see as India's batting failed miserably.