Guwahati: Twenty-five years ago, India lost two back-to-back Tests at home to South Africa. The first one was on a turner, the second on a perfectly good batting pitch where South Africa scored 479. By stumps on Day 3 at Barsapara here, the signs are that history will repeat itself. In that 2000 series, the Indian team, going through a transition with Sachin Tendulkar about to leave captaincy, did not cross the 250-mark even once. That may well happen again, with the hosts managing 189, 93 and 201 in the three innings so far.
In 2000, India were still not sure who their next captain would be. A quarter of a century later, the problem is centred around their coach Gautam Gambhir and how he wants to conduct his team in Test cricket. But no discussion of the Monday debacle can start without Rishabh Pant’s man-child carelessness with the bat. In his first Test as captain, his horribly injudicious charge — off just the eighth ball he faced — to Marco Jansen, who was in the middle of a dream spell, threw India’s chances of a fightback into the Brahmaputra. “On another day, the bowler would have gone into the stands and all of us would have appreciated and clapped. That’s how it is,” Washington Sundar’s defence of Pant at the close of play really sounded weak. While Pant’s dismissal was unquestionably the most glaring one on Monday, unnecessary chopping and changing by the management continues to haunt the team. Washington, who looked a perfect fit at No. 3 on a difficult track at Eden Gardens, was pushed down to No. 8 where he scored a patient 48, an innings worthy of a top-order player.
