South African Safari Blues: What went wrong for Team India?

An unprepared India hurtled to their first series loss under captain Kohli

Having the tools and not being able to use them are two different things. Indians, much to their deep down selves chagrin and their faithful fans' ire, have found the above dictum too sore for their comfort. That they possessed the skill-sets to do well in these bouncy and pacey conditions on both fronts was almost a given, or so they thought.

That they could have mustered a face-saving fight cuts them to the quick, if only they had their planning wits about them with greater attention to detail. Measure twice, cut once is the credo of carpenters and tailors, but the hasty and shambolic jamboree of this Indian team has not allowed them any comebacks whatsoever versus a feisty opponent at home.

Numbers don't lie and after being pummelled into submission in the first game, chances of a comeback on these alien conditions are so very tough. Notwithstanding Virat's batting masterclass that buried his gremlins from Capetown and a day's loss due to a torrential downpour, South Africa decimated India with disdain that almost had the Indian fans unfurl the white flags in utter embarrassing astonishment.

More so is the pity as nothing cripples and shatters the soul as much as those three words of pen and tongue - might have been! As a player, one knows deep down that if there is one factor he can control in this game of inherent vicissitudes that depraves the soul, it is his sense of preparation. Fail to prepare, be prepared to fail may well be the template of this failed African adventure.

To me, what compounded the misery was the muddled selection choices embraced by the touring selection committee that reeked of a warped thinking process. To drop Ajinkya Rahane, the vice-captain to the flashy Rohit is a case in point, despite the latter's red-hot stints against the lowly Lankans on batting shirtfronts. Rahane might have floundered lately at home, but to drop him and not showing confidence in his time-tested ability hurt India most.

Then the other selection foible, dumping the in-form Bhuvaneshwar Kumar for Ishant at Centurion baffled most discerning watchers. Ishant, despite his experience, has flattered to deceive.

If bowlers win games, batsmen save them. The less spoken about going a batsman short on bowler friendly fast decks the better, as the brittle batting caved without a whimper of a fight. The only highlight at Capetown apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar's probing swing was an innings of rare counter-attacking brilliance from Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder has had his share of inspired moments in this series, but unless he shows a sense of greater game awareness, he is bound to underperform.

Misfortunes come at once after all, and the injury to Wriddhiman Saha, after his splendid display with the gloves at Capetown, was not bargained for. Aside, Murali Vijay 's persistent flirt with danger outside the off stump, off both spin and seam, went against the grain of his DNA.

He must be kicking himself sore, I dare say, knowing him.

Pujara's fidgety snail-paced digs, that tied himself in knots without getting the ball off square was an eyesore. He is a better batsman than this self imposed torture. His obdurate batting bouts that might have made an earlier generation Tavare look a batting millionaire, dug his grave both metaphorically and figuratively. His frazzled suicidal tendencies and maniacal decisions to run without proper judgement seemed as if someone had tied both his boots shoelaces and cut his agonising legs!

Shikhar Dhawan's red mist like anger as an opener and programmed pulls on these bouncy pitches revealed his poor choice of shot selection and KL Rahul's stints at Capetown put paid to top order partnerships, as both seemed to suffer batting brain fades.

Against the backdrop of a rich diet of buffet bowling of the Lankans at subcontinent decks, those ghastly errors are not under intense scrutiny, but here in hostile South Africa, it is akin to poking their own eyes, for such is the suffering.

The strain of expectation on Virat Kohli bordered almost on the insane.The ceaseless, nagging lines of the pacey Protean lineup never showed a letup, as his escape routes were shut. Their pace battery consisting of near-abouts finished article like the one and only Dale Steyn: boomerang merchant Vernon Philander, angular Morne Morkel to go with the eager work in progress apprentices like Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi, proved a deathly combination. Such was their persistent discipline on and around the fourth stump that once the head was hunted, the body and the tail duly folded in utter subjugation.

The only consolation thus far has been the bowlers' ability to bounce back and get 20 wickets in both the matches, with Jasprit Bumrah in his maiden Test tour, proving a pleasant revelation. As evidenced by the velvety mitts of the prehensile Proteas in the slip cordon, that duly supported their fast bowlers with amazing alacrity, the Indian pacers were denied that very luxurious benefit, thanks to the nervous set of slips and a tentative keeper (a euphemism for Parthiv, the back stopper!)

Plagued by proverbial butterfingers, particularly at Centurion, it was shocking to witness Parthiv grass a few, like Dean Elgar's costly miss in Centurion, but it was appalling to watch him not even "go for " a catch! The temerity and gall to not accept his embarrassing foible, yet shift the blame on hapless Pujara at first slip, betrayed a shocking defeatist mentality.

All in all it has been a forgettable tour so far for the ragged Indian ensemble searching for the lost pride even as the grassy bullring at Wanderers in Kingsmead, Durban awaits them, enough though to make the Protean quartet almost foam in their mouths with drooling glee and a whitewash in sight.

Talk of timely comeuppance from their 0-3 drubbing in early 2016! India on the other hand, can take a tiny solace from their efforts as a bowling unit as it in this very venue in late 2006 resulted in a win and a draw in 2013.

Bare words don't buy Barley. Tall talk not followed by the customary walk has hurt them most, coupled with a callous attitude to not acclimatize and adapt early. One sincerely hopes the side does not lose the lessons in these soul-destroying losses where their hubris has been rubbed on to the ground with dizzying intensity.

Pride after all goes before a fall. Two more tough tours await them to the UK and to Oz this year and what better way than to show the world a modicum of fight in Durban, to claw back with a feisty sense of pride and purpose, that the eager Indian fan holds his breath for.