It will be a low-key New Year for Indian cricketers in South Africa. The mood in the visiting camp is very low following a demoralising defeat in the first Test against the Proteas at SuperSport Park, Centurion. (More Cricket News)
India, the most dominant force in world cricket albeit with limited success, were reduced to mere pedestrians in the Boxing Day Test. They lost the match by an innings and 32 runs.
The last time India, the two-time ICC World Test Championship finalists, suffered an innings defeat was against England at Headingley Stadium, Leeds in 2021, in the third match of the five-match Pataudi Trophy.
Losing a Test match inside three days doesn't help, indeed. Post-mortems have already been conducted by fans and pundits, and understandably so, the cricketers themselves are not upbeat.
Besides crime in South African cities has proliferated. Reports of mugging, robbery, theft, snatching, pick-pocketing, etc. often hit the headlines. According to a Cricbuzz report, the Indian cricketers have been advised to exercise caution while venturing out.
"Not serious but the general safety precautions we have to take, as usual," an unnamed player has been quoted as saying. The report further claimed that none of the Indian players will be attending the Year-End celebrations in Cape Town, a city known for its carnival-like festivities at the iconic Waterfront.
One report claimed that the country's per capita murder rate for 2022-23 reached its highest in 20 years at 45 per 100,000 -- an alarming 50 per cent increase compared to 2012-13.
Meanwhile, South Africa remained India's 'Final Frontier' in Test cricket even though it's not the only country they have struggled in the traditional format of the game. There's New Zealand too, where India have only managed to win once in the last 20 attempts.
