India, Nov. 26 -- For more than a decade, India's home Test record felt like cricket's biggest guarantee. Teams arrive knowing they would be ground down by spin, crowds, and pressure. On Tuesday in Guwahati, that myth was smashed by a 408-run hammering from South Africa, sealing a 2-0 series defeat and a second consecutive whitewash at home.

It wasn't just the margin; it was the mood. As the final wicket fell, some of the game's most influential former players reached for words that mixed disbelief with concern. Their reactions underline how India's slide in red-ball cricket is no longer a blip but a pattern that is now becoming more than noticeable.

Kevin Pietersen, who once played one of the defining "Mumbai specials" himself - a maje...