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The Indian cricket team's surprising 0-2 loss to South Africa in the recent Test series has plunged the side into crisis.

In the final match, South Africa inflicted upon India a record loss in Test cricket, defying expectations. It marked South Africa's first series win in the subcontinent in a quarter-century and India's second home series loss in just 12 months after a 12-year unbeaten run.

The momentum built over the last several months has largely dissipated and the futures of several players - as well as head mentor the coach - are under scrutiny.

A Promising Start Vanishes

The young team's impressive performance in the UK this season, under a different skipper, pointed to a smooth transition following the almost concurrent departures of stalwarts Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Kohli.

A straightforward 2-0 triumph over the Windies at the beginning of the domestic season boosted that belief, until the South Africans came and inflicted a crushing loss.

India were a tad unfortunate that skipper Gill got injured early on in the first Test and did not participate again in the series. But that does not excuse or justify the team of the terribly sub-par performance in both Tests against South Africa.

Some big reputations suffered, and several players eyeing long red-ball careers were exposed as still inadequate - in ability or temperament - for the Test cricket.

A Troubling Pattern

This represented the second clean sweep in home conditions endured by the Indian team in just more than a year. Last year, little-fancied New Zealand had pulled off a surprising 3-0 victory which essentially denied India a spot in the WTC final.

The recent defeat to South Africa risks harming the team's chances of qualifying for the showpiece of this edition too.

After being third in the WTC table before the series, India have fallen to fifth place. Even though nine additional matches are still to come, five of these are against Australia. Ordinarily, performing in familiar conditions would be a major plus - even when facing the strong Australian side. Yet the disasters against the Kiwis and South Africa leave little scope for such assurance.

Reasons for the Slump

India's vulnerability in red-ball cricket has been clearly revealed. Nevertheless, the reason the team have struggled so much in Test matches at home lately is remains puzzling.

From the year 2000 onwards, the Indian cricket team were seen as unbeatable in red-ball cricket at home. In hot, humid conditions and on surfaces that favored spin bowling and suited their batsmen and bowlers, India faced little challenge. A rare failure, like in 2012-13 against the English, was seen as an anomaly.

Currently, India look to be vulnerable on home turf.

Facing New Zealand in 2024 and the Proteas this year, India were beaten at their own game. The tracks they curated to suit their strengths failed miserably, as the opposition capitalized on them more skillfully, surpassing India's batsmen and bowlers when it was most crucial.

What's Gone Wrong?

A few experts argue that India is failing in home conditions because home surfaces have been changed from spinning tracks to fast tracks to train the squad to do well abroad.

Others highlight that the Indian Premier League (IPL), in which numerous foreign cricketers participate, has removed the surprise and difficulty subcontinental pitches would challenge them with before.

Although there is validity in these views, it fails to account for why the side's results on home soil have witnessed such a dramatic drop.

Multiple Failings

The majority of ex-cricketers diagnose a multi-faceted challenge, not limited to a few causes.

Analysts and squad members have identified several failings after India's disappointing performance to the South Africans: underestimating the opposition, inadequate readiness, poor choices, overconfidence, frequent changes of the playing XI, and favoring white-ball over the longer format.

This was evident in the displays of the side.

Members such as Rishabh Pant and Jaiswal, of whom great things were anticipated, paid for their lack of application, while Sai Sudarshan, Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel - who were aiming to establish their place in the team - came up short in technique and temperament, paying a heavy price for their nonchalant approach.

Only a handful - Jadeja, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Siraj and Washington Sundar - lived up to their skill and fame - but inadequately to claim wins.

Leadership Under Fire

The analysis targeted the entire setup - the selection panel and coaching staff were also under fire, driven by disappointed supporters and outspoken ex-cricketers. In the spotlight of the scrutiny was head coach Gautam Gambhir.

At his post-series press