NEW DELHI: For the first time in 59 years, Team India slumped to a low not seen since the 1966/67 season at home in Test cricket, after their top order crumbled in the first innings of the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati on Monday.
India appeared well placed at 95 for 1, with Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 off 97) looking fluent on his way to a stylish half-century. But the innings unraveled dramatically soon after, as the hosts lost six wickets for just 27 runs. In less than 30 minutes after the start of the second session, India had collapsed to 122 for 7.
Indian batters were guilty of poor shot selection on a good batting track as pacer Marco Jansen used the short ball exceptionally well as he extracted bounce that was disconcerting enough to trouble the Indian batters, who were indiscreet in their shot selection.
India's previous worst batting slide at home came in the 1966/67 series against the West Indies in Kolkata, when they fell from 98 for 1 to 139 for 7.
India have endured some dramatic batting meltdowns in Test history, and the collapse in Guwahati now joins a list of infamous moments. On several occasions, India have gone from dominant positions to desperate ones in the space of a few overs.
In Karachi in 1982, India crashed from 102 for 1 to 114 for 7, losing six wickets for just 12 runs. Two years later in Lahore, a similar story unfolded as they slipped from 94 for 1 to 120 for 7 - again a collapse of 26 runs for six wickets.
The trend isn't new; as far back as 1946 at Old Trafford, India fell from 130 for 1 to 156 for 7. Even in the 1967 Lord's Test, the side went from 60 for 1 to 90 for 7 in a slide that cost them the match.
