Guwahati, Nov. 26 -- After one of the most shambolic displays of batting in India's Test cricket history, the two-time World Test Championship (WTC) finalists succumbed to a series loss to reigning WTC champions South Africa with a 408-run defeat at Guwahati on Wednesday, marking one of the lowest points in Indian Test cricket history with two series whitewashes at home in back-to-back years.

The defeat has plenty of reasons one can pinpoint fingers on, be it the extreme pitches chosen by the home team, the failure of the coaching staff to instil a proper Test-driven mindset and technique within players, the collective batting failure and excessive reliance on Indian pace spearheads Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for miracles. However...