South Africa, the current ICC World Test Championship holders, completed a 2-0 series win to whitewash India at home. The Temba Bavuma-led side defeated India by 408 runs in the second Test in Guwahati on Wednesday.The result gave South Africa the biggest win over India in terms of runs in Test cricket. It was also the first time since 2000 that South Africa won a Test series in India.
Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik said that India are going through a Test cricket crisis, adding that the team’s long period of success at home has weakened after the recent 2-0 defeat.In a video on Instagram, Karthik said India’s aura had faded. “Teams used to be scared of coming to India to play Test cricket. Now they must be licking their lips,” he said on Wednesday. “A second whitewash in a span of 12 months. In the last three series played here in India, two have been whitewashes. These are tough times for India in Test cricket, and tough decisions might have to be taken.”India’s issues against South Africa reflected a broader decline. The bowlers were outperformed at home, the batting struggled both against pace and spin, and several selection calls were questioned. Karthik said there was increasing uncertainty in the squad. “Pacers and spinners are being out-bowled in India. One too many all-rounders are being played. Nitish Reddy, the nominated pace all-rounder, has bowled 14 overs across the whole domestic calendar season. India had just two players who scored hundreds in this Test series. South Africa had seven.”He also spoke about India’s unsettled No. 3 position, which has seen frequent changes. “In the WTC cycle, India’s No. 3 holds the second-worst record in the first innings of a Test match, averaging 26. Who is our No. 3? Washington plays at No. 3 in Kolkata, Sai Sudharsan plays No. 3 in Guwahati. Is chopping and changing helping India, or do we need more stability and consistency?”Karthik said it is unclear whether India will fix these problems or move on once white-ball cricket resumes. “The next Test match is after seven months. Are we going to forget this? That is the big question. What does it take for this Test team to come back and become as good as they were?”
