Humbled at home, India succumb to their heaviest defeat ever in Test cricket

New Delhi: On Wednesday, India recorded their worst-ever defeat in Test cricket after South Africa humbled the hosts in their own den after a huge span of 25 years. The Proteas proved to be too strong for the Indian side as they beat them by a gigantic margin of 408 runs in the second and final Test match at the Baraspara cricket stadium in Guwahati to register a 2-0 clean sweep in the series.

The Proteas had earlier beaten India in the first Test match at the Eden Gardens last week. Chasing a heavy total of 549 runs on the last day, India could just muster 140 runs with Ravindra Jadeja playing the role of a lone warrior for the hosts with a gritty half-century and the other batters falling like pack of cards.

Sai Sudharsan, who played a typical Test cricket, could also not last long in front of the lethal Proteas bowling led by Simon Harmer who claimed 6 wickets in the second innings. By virtue of this defeat, this only became the third time that India has lost a series at home in consecutive years. This is also for the first time in more than 60 years that India has lost five in a span of seven Test matches at home.

This became only the third time ever that India have been clean swept in Test cricket and out of the three times, they have suffered two clean sweeps at the hand of the Proteas. The other on was handed to them by New Zealand when they lost the Test series 0-3 earlier. India have also slipped to the fifth position in the WTC table, behind Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in the group being led by Australia and followed by South Africa.

1) by 408 runs vs South Africa, 2025 in Guwahati

2) by 342 runs vs Australia, 2004 in Nagpur

3) by 341 runs vs Pakistan, 2006 in Karachi

4) by an innings and 336 runs vs West Indies, 1958 in Kolkata

5) by 333 runs vs Australia, 2017 in Pune