South Africa Humiliate India 2–0: Worst Home Phase in 93 Years
- By Thetripurapost Desk, Guwahati
- Nov 26, 2025
- 548
South Africa handed India a crushing 2–0 whitewash in the Test series, sealing the second match in Guwahati by a massive 408-run margin. Chasing an improbable 549 on the fifth day, India folded for 140, marking the first time in India’s 93-year Test history that they have lost a home Test by 400+ runs.
This defeat also deepens India’s alarming decline at home. Once regarded as the most dominant Test side on home turf, India have now lost five of their last seven home Tests and suffered two clean sweeps within a year. Earlier, in October–November 2024, New Zealand had stunned India 3–0.
In the past 13 months, only Zimbabwe have lost more home matches than India — a striking fall for a team once considered nearly unbeatable in subcontinental conditions.
How Teams Have Performed at Home Since October 2024
India: Only West Indies Defeated
Since October 2024, India have managed to beat only the West Indies at home. Their home record in this period:
This includes clean sweeps by New Zealand (3–0) and South Africa (2–0).
Pakistan: Better Home Record Than India
Pakistan, often seen as a weaker Test side compared to India, have surprisingly outperformed India at home:
Pakistan even drew the series 1–1 against the same South African side that dismantled India. Pakistan won the first Test, while South Africa took the second — both fiercely contested matches, unlike India's one-sided defeats.
3 Major Reasons Behind India’s Home Collapse
1. Gautam Gambhir’s Unpopular Strategy
Since Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as head coach, India’s Test performance has sharply dipped — especially at home.
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Gambhir has emphasized all-rounders over specialists.
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These all-rounders have failed both with bat and ball.
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In both Tests vs South Africa, India fielded only three specialist batters, leading to repeated collapses.
2. Young Players Failing Consistently
India’s new generation has been unable to deliver under pressure:
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Yashasvi Jaiswal: 3 scores below 20 in last 4 innings
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Sai Sudarshan: 15 & 14 in Guwahati
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Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar: No impactful contributions
The lack of stability from the young core has left the batting order brittle.
3. Struggling Against Both Pace and Spin
India’s biggest concern is their batters’ inability to handle any kind of bowling:
Even worse, the past year's numbers highlight the crisis:
The absence of captain Shubman Gill (neck spasms) in both innings of the second Test further exposed India's depth issues.
Conclusion
India, once unbeatable at home, now stand among the weakest Test sides in home conditions. A combination of questionable selections, underperforming youngsters, and technical deficiencies against both pace and spin has turned the past year into India’s worst home phase in modern cricket history.