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India are looking at a rare home whitewash, a defeat that may make South Africa the primary team to rout them twice and leave Gambhir overseeing two of only three such failures.
South Africa are only a couple of good sessions away from history.
(PC: AP)
India’s batting suffered one other major collapse on Monday, leaving them near a house Test series whitewash against South Africa.
On a surface Kuldeep Yadav had described as a ‘road’, the hosts were bowled out for just 201 of their first innings, undone largely by Marco Jansen’s outstanding 6 for 48. The 6’8’’ pacer, who had already hit 93 on day two, used his height to generate stellar bounce off the surface, and the Indians simply looked lost for answers.
By stumps on Day 3 of the ultimate Test, South Africa reached 26 for 0, stretching their result in 314 and positioning themselves to set India a goal well beyond 450 with ample time for his or her bowlers.
India’s slide from 95 for 1 to 122 for 7 highlighted poor judgment and shot selection. Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and KL Rahul (22) were dismissed by rare balls that bounced sharply, but what followed drew criticism.
Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, and captain Rishabh Pant fell inside 13 balls, all to ill-advised strokes. Washington Sundar (48) and Kuldeep Yadav (19 off 134) briefly resisted, adding 62, however the damage was done.
India have only suffered two home whitewashes of their history. Essentially the most recent one was against Tom Latham’s Recent Zealand, with Gary Stead’s superbly prepared side trouncing India 3-0 — the one clean-sweep in a series consisting of greater than two Tests.
And the opposite was against South Africa in 1999-2000, where Hansie Cronje’s men thumped Sachin Tendulkar’s India 2-0 in two Tests at Wankhede Stadium and the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Notably, India once lost a ‘Golden Jubilee’ one-Test tour against England at home in 1979, which won’t qualify as a series, technically.
Hence, if South Africa were to beat India on Tuesday, they’d develop into the primary visiting team to whitewash India in two series. Gambhir may also develop into the primary men’s head coach in Indian cricket history to oversee not one but two of the one three humiliating home whitewashes.
Within the early years of their Test journey, India wasn’t a dominating side by any extent of imagination, but they knew the best way to hold their very own against everyone from the mighty West Indies to the world-beaters Australia. The present side looks headed towards a brand new low unless a miracle saves them.
November 24, 2025, 17:17 IST
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