“As a team, we need to get better” - Rishabh Pant after South Africa cleansweeps India 2-0

India suffered a 408-run defeat in the second and final Test against South Africa at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, to lose the two-match Test series 0-2. Earlier, they suffered a 30-run defeat in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Interestingly, this is South Africa’s second Test series win in India after their 2-0 sweep in 2000 under the captaincy of Hansie Cronje. Interestingly, this was second consecutive Test series defeat at home for India to a SENA nation after earlier losing to New Zealand 0-3 last year.

Also, the last time India lost two Test series at home across two consecutive years was over four decades ago. vs West Indies (1983) and vs England (1984/85). After this 408-run drubbing, India moved down to the fifth rank in the WTC 2025-27 standings.

“It's a little disappointing. As a team, we need to get better. Credit to the opposition for playing better than us. They dominated the series, but at the time, you couldn't take cricket for granted. We're playing at home, and sometimes we were up in the game, but we didn't capitalise on them, and we have to learn and get better,” Rishabh Pant said at the post-match presentation ceremony. 

Whether you're playing at home or away, cricket demands determination and extra effort. As a batting unit, you need to capitalise on certain moments. As a team, we didn't do that. The positives from this series will be to focus on our own plan,” he added.

While Marco Jansen was adjudged the player of the match in the second Test, off-spinner Simon Harmer has been awarded the player of the series trophy. India’s next Test (one-off Test) is against Afghanistan in June 2026 at home.

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