India suffered a shock 30-run loss at the hands of South Africa in the first Test in Kolkata, as the hosts have now lost four out of their last six Test matches at home. India seemed not to be learning how to play on turning tracks against tougher opponents. After a 0-3 series loss against New Zealand last year, the failure to chase down the target of 124 runs was another blot on the two-time finalists' home run in Tests in the last 12 months or so and they will have to relook at their strategy with regards to preparing such wickets and the batter's ability to play on surfaces, which aren't necessarily the easiest to bat on.
Despite being 30 runs behind in the first innings, South Africa were somehow able to stretch their lead beyond 120 in their second innings and that eventually proved to be enough as Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj ran through the Indian batting line-up on the third day to secure a famous win for their side.
This was the second consecutive win for South Africa in the new WTC cycle and the reigning champions have now jumped a couple of spots on the World Test Championship (WTC) points table, to be in joint-second place, alongside Sri Lanka.
South Africa have a points percentage of 66.67 after two wins in three matches in the new cycle, while India fell by a spot to No 4, with their PCT reducing from 57.14 to 54.16, and are just marginally ahead of Pakistan and England.
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 100 |
| 2. | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 66.67 |
| 3. | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 4. | India | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 52 | 54.17 |
| 5. | Pakistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 50.00 |
| 6. | England | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 43.33 |
| 7. | Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16.67 |
| 8. | West Indies | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9. | New Zealand | Yet to play |
The game turned in the morning session on the third day, with South Africa being able to add 60 runs for the last three wickets, led by Temba Bavuma's gritty half-century. India, without Shubman Gill, were already a batter short, but should have chased down 124 regardless of the circumstances and what the pitch was doing and will force a serious introspection amongst the think tank ahead of the second Test in Guwahati.
While the Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir stressed animatedly that they got the pitch of their choice and urged the batters to play spin better, it is not difficult to notice the pattern of India losing on extreme wickets, which happened across three Tests against New Zealand and now this.