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The Indian cricket team's shocking 0-2 defeat to South Africa in the recently concluded red-ball series has left the team reeling.

In the final match, South Africa inflicted upon India their heaviest Test defeat by runs, contrary to predictions. It marked South Africa's first series win in India in two and a half decades and the host nation's second home series loss in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.

The positive trajectory built over the past six months has almost disappeared and the prospects of several players - as well as head mentor the coach - are under scrutiny.

A Promising Start Disappears

The young team's impressive performance in England this summer, under a different skipper, pointed to a seamless changeover after the close together exits of key players R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.

An easy 2-0 victory over the Windies at the start of the home season enhanced that perception, until the South Africans came and inflicted a crushing loss.

The home side were somewhat unlucky that leader Gill suffered an injury quickly in the opening Test and took no further part in the contest. But that does not excuse or justify the team of the well below standard display in each match against the opposition.

Some big reputations suffered, and multiple individuals eyeing lengthy Test careers were revealed to be still inadequate - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.

Concerning History

This represented the second clean sweep in home conditions suffered by the Indian team in just over a year. Last year, underestimated the Kiwis had achieved a surprising 3-0 triumph which practically cost India a berth in the Test championship finale.

The latest loss to the Proteas could damage India's prospects of making the final of this season too.

After being third in the WTC rankings ahead of the matches, India have fallen to fifth place. Although nine more Tests are remaining, a majority are against the Aussies. Ordinarily, competing on home turf would be a major plus - including against the strong Australian side. Yet the disasters against the Kiwis and South Africa leave little scope for such assurance.

Causes of the Fall

The national team's vulnerability in the longer format has been badly exposed. However, why India have performed so poorly in Tests on home soil recently is continues to confuse.

Since the turn of the century, India were seen as unbeatable in Test cricket at home. Under sweltering weather and on tracks that favored spin bowling and suited their batsmen and bowlers, India faced little challenge. The occasional loss, like in the 2012-13 season against England, was seen as an exception.

Currently, the team look to be beatable in their own backyard.

Versus New Zealand in 2024 and South Africa this year, the home side were defeated by their own tactics. The pitches they developed to help their style went wrong completely, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, outplaying the home team's players when it was most crucial.

The Core Issue

A few experts argue that India is failing at home because home surfaces have been changed from turners to pace-friendly pitches to train the squad to succeed overseas.

Some point out that the domestic T20 league, in which several international stars participate, has reduced the mystery and hardship subcontinental pitches would pose to them in the past.

While there is some truth in each argument, it fails to account for why the side's results on home soil have seen such a dramatic drop.

Various Shortcomings

Most former players diagnose a complicated issue, not just one or two factors.

Analysts and squad members have pointed to multiple deficiencies following the team's embarrassing defeat to the South Africans: underestimating the opposition, inadequate readiness, flawed selections, arrogance, frequent changes of the team lineup, and favoring white-ball over Test cricket.

This was obvious in the showings of the team.

Cricketers such as Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal, of whom so much was expected, were punished for their carelessness, while Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were looking to cement their position in the squad - came up short in ability and attitude, facing the fallout for their lackadaisical method.

Just a few - Ravindra Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Siraj and Sundar - did justice to their skill and fame - but not sufficiently to win matches.

Leadership Under Fire

The analysis also included not only the cricketers - selectors and coaching staff were also questioned, fuelled by distraught fans and critical former players. Under focus of the criticism was team coach Gambhir.

During his post-series press