NEW DELHI: India found themselves on the verge of another home Test series setback after being whitewashed 0-3 by New Zealand last year. In the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati, chasing a massive target of 549, India's batting faltered once again, losing five wickets for just 58 runs.
To save the Test and avoid another clean sweep, India now need to bat through the entire fifth day - a highly unlikely task given their ongoing struggles against spin, even on home pitches. With the series all but lost, questions are being raised about India's dominance at home.
Once a formidable force in familiar conditions, the team now seems to have trapped itself by preparing turning tracks that have backfired against their own batters.
For the first time in 21 years, India have been asked to chase a target of over 500 runs at home in Test cricket. The last occasion was in 2004, when Australia set India a daunting 543-run target in Nagpur. India went on to lose that match by 342 runs, a defeat that still stands as their biggest loss by runs in the longest format.
India's biggest defeats in terms of runs in Test cricket
342 runs vs Australia in Nagpur 2004
341 runs vs Pakistan in Karachi 2006
337 runs vs Australia in Melbourne 2007
333 runs vs Australia in Pune 2017
329 runs vs South Africa in Eden Gardens 1996
India face uphill battle
It will take a herculean effort from the remaining batters to save the game on the final day and avoid the ignominy of a 0-2 whitewash.
The only saving grace for them could be the fact that light fades quickly in this part of the world after 3:45 pm and not more than 80 odd overs have been possible on any of the past four days.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir will certainly prefer a 0-1 series defeat over a 0-2 result which would be the second series debacle at home against a SENA nation in the past 12 months.
