GUWAHATI: Thirteen months ago, a Test tour to India usually meant prayers and vibes. Sides came in hope but deep down they already knew that there was no point in hoping. Such was India's mastery in their own backyard.
Three Test losses spanning a 11-year period from 2013 to 2024.
Each loss was stop the press, an event inside the event because they were so rare. Each win was met with a shrug of the shoulder and more words on the artistry of R Ashwin, the magnificence of the bowlers, the artisan attributes of Ravindra Jadeja or the skills of Virat Kohli... you get the drift.
It came down to a shuddering halt at the hands of New Zealand. Across three games in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai, a very real sense of invincibility was punctured. When the Kiwis left these shores, the hosts knew they had to rebuild that lost aura.
Players left, a captain moved on, a No. 4 — a family heirloom in these parts — retired, one legendary spinner hung his boots. In essence, the players most responsible for building that aura, run by run, wicket by wicket and win by win, had left.
It was now up to a new batch of players to rebuild it. They had a brand new jenga in front of their eyes.
After a lowkey but winning start to the new process last month, the hosts are in danger of losing the remaining aura they had. India is generally known as the hardest place for visiting teams to come and win. That claim holds water but for that claim to continue to hold water, they should level the second of the two-match Test series against South Africa beginning at the Barsapara Stadium on Saturday.
That task got harder when Shubman Gill, the one identified with leading India into the future, suffered a neck issue during the first game in Kolkata. On Friday, the captain was ruled out of the second Test in Guwahati.
A big test for Pant
And, so, India's 30th Test venue will welcome their 38th Test captain and seventh in the last five years. In isolation, this may have just been another of those games where a stand-in captain quietly named, ticks several boxes, runs the team on auto-pilot while keeping the seat warm for the incumbent.
But these are not ordinary times. Pull the curtain back a bit, zoom out and quite a lot hinges on the next five days — there's a widespread belief in both camps that this deck may go the distance. Firstly, this is an opportunity for Pant to underline his leadership qualities after a rough Indian Premier League (IPL) stint. Marshall his troops, rotate the bowlers well and level the series and Pant the leader grows in stature.
Considering he's still a polarising figure — Indians fans are able to celebrate his bravado but fail to appreciate that his sui generis shot-making has its own inherent risks — this can be a moment for him to get more goodwill in the bank. Considering Sunil Gavaskar launched a million memes with his on air 'stupid, stupid, stupid' comment for a shot the wicket-keeper played during last year's Boxing Day Test to get out, he's still somehow seen as reckless, a hedonist not capable of handling responsibility.
One good result and that perception may change. "I want to be someone who gives that freedom," he said in the pre-match press conference. "I want people and players to learn around and make the right decision for the team eventually.
“I want to keep a mixture of both, being conventional also helps and also adding that outside-the-box thinking also works out. For me, it's all about finding that balance between conventional and outside-the-box thinking and definitely back my instinct."
If that's on Pant the leader, Pant the batter also has a fairly significant role to play on the red-soil deck. That he eats left-arm fingerspin is well known. Ask Jack Leach. Ask Tom Hartley. Ask Ajaz Patel. They may have picked up wickets against India but Pant has generally been ruthless against them.
However, if he's to get some fun against Keshav Maharaj, he needs to win that match-up against Simon Harmer, the right-arm offspinner. In Kolkata, six of Harmer's eight wickets were left-handers. Pant was picked up by Harmer in the second innings rather meekly so if he's able to reverse the pattern here, the other batters may get some respite.
In that game against Harmer, it seemed like Pant was overcomplicating his thought processes before losing his wicket. What version will turn up?
