India, Dec. 2 -- The rapidity with which focus shifts in Indian cricket is little short of astonishing. Less than a week back, everyone remotely invested in the sport was bemoaning India's inglorious recent home record in Test cricket. Now, that same individual and their cousin have become experts at body language, lip-reading, and behavioural analysis.

All of a sudden, there is no talk of how badly they were schooled in their own conditions by Temba Bavuma's South Africa, who inflicted on India their second Test series loss at home in the last 12 months. All the angst and outrage over team selection, batting order reshuffles, the influx of white-ball specialists and the profusion of utility players have gone out the window. That's all b...