The rot had set in at Kingsmead, on a second morning when South Africa's last two wickets added 73 to take the gloss off another strong bowling performance. As at the Wanderers, Sreesanth had led the way, with beautiful use of the seam while swinging the ball at lively pace. With the momentum having shifted, South Africa pressed home their advantage, with Makhaya Ntini's magnificent final-day bowling bringing about a result that hadn't appeared possible as bad light cast a pall over the whole match.

The batting of Ashwell Prince was a crucial part of South Africa's success © AFP

Even without the injured Jacques Kallis, South Africa's batsmen had rebounded after the Johannesburg humiliation, with Ashwell Prince and Graeme Smith at the forefront of the revival. Smith's second-innings 58 turned out to be pivotal in more ways than one, heralding as it did a return to form after a woeful start to the season. At Newlands, in front of his adopted home crowd, he was once more the intimidating leader, muscling strokes in every direction on his way to two priceless half-centuries.

India's answer was a whimper. A year ago, Virender Sehwag was the most feared opener in the game. But after a series where his highest score, 40, came from the middle order, he might just be yesterday's news, with his form, fitness and attitude all under a cloud. Time away from the limelight has revived the careers of men like Sourav Ganguly and Michael Clarke, and an enforced sabbatical is perhaps Sehwag's best hope of coming back as the player we all know he can be.

If anything, this series only reinforced just how crucial Dravid is to India's Test plans. For the first time since the home series against South Africa in 1999-2000, he finished without a half-century, and it was Ganguly that finished top of the Indian run chart with 214 runs. To be fair to Dravid, he got two poor decisions in Durban, and the officiating on the whole made a mockery of the Elite Panel concept.

While the batting side of things was an unmitigated disaster, things couldn't have been more different with the ball. Sreesanth will wonder how he took more wickets than Ntini and Shaun Pollock (18 at 21.94) and yet finished on the losing side, while Zaheer Khan was the perfect foil on his return from the wilderness. Kumble disappointed at Newlands, but was as committed as ever while wheeling away for more overs (134) than any bowler
on either side.

Where India lost out was in the fourth-bowler stakes. VRV Singh's inexperience showed in the first two Tests, while Munaf Patel's shocking lack of fitness in the series decider made a mockery of his selection. Playing him on the back of hardly any match practice was always going to be a gamble, and it failed signally. It didn't help either than Irfan Pathan was already back home, trying to resuscitate a career that has gone into freefall since the tour of the West Indies.

But in the midst of the all-pervasive gloom at Newlands, India rediscovered a talent that hadn't yet come to fruition when first exposed to international cricket. Dinesh Karthik was an eleventh-hour replacement for the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and the character he showed when pushed up to open the batting in the first innings augured well for the future. He was tidy behind the stumps as well, and his constant chirping tried to coax some energy out of a group where too many individuals sleepwalked their way through one of the biggest games of their lives.

The Wanderers win had been an emphatic response after the utter mediocrity of the one-day series. But instead of building on it, India blinked when confronted by the key moments that decide the fate of a series. Nothing worthwhile was ever achieved through timidity and a conservative approach, and the harsh lessons learnt at Durban and Cape Town will have to be taken on board before India embark on the ultimate tests - tours of England and Australia. And it would certainly help if the fielding didn't resemble a bunch of geriatrics having a Sunday hit.

Time and again.. its the same sad story. And, I believe strongly, its the wrong mindset we have that people like Tendulkar are not replacable. There are batsmen like Robin Uthappa crying for a place in the side with his current form, but we still persisited with people like Sachin. And, mind it, we need to take into account the centuries which Robin made in the second innings always; our legends always fail in the second innings. Its just a waste of time talking about improving Indian cricket when we can't take bold decisions like keeping out Sachin, Kapildev, etc. Lets be fair to Dravid who failed only in this series.

what you have written is hundred percent true anout the indian batting. Our players are treated as gods and heros in india which is the reason they are not bothered about theier game.

I am a great fan of Sachin and it really pains me to see him struggling. He is under tremendous pressure to perform as depicted by his facial expressions and body language while at the crease..He is no more the same old Sachin but not getting younger.We have to accept the fact " he is mortal ".He may still play few innings of brilliance but one should not expect the familiar consistency, dominance or authority over the opposition.Bowlers all over the world are regularly finding chinks in his armoury and he will find future more hostile.Interestingly, known media people are hesitant to criticize him fearing reaction from his million of admirers and fans. But let's not be in a state of denial for this great person's sake.He should be supported by everyone if he decides to follow the footsteps of recent Australians retirees.

I really aggree with this article. India had this series in their hands and were really close. its the same indian story; cant close the deal. Sreesanth is a good prospect as seen on previous tours. as for Dinesh Karthik, got to wait and see a little bit more. Definetly worth spot in the team. Zaheer Khan made a great comeback, as did Sourvav Ganguly. Ganguly should be more thought of in selections for tests. Overall, the series was exciting, and we played well. Yet the problem was that we cant recognize key moments to prove ourselves. We have the team, but we dont have all the pieces together. THis has to be worked on.

I agree fully. But the blame of batting slow on fourth day should go entirely to Sachin, since Dravid was batting well with Ganguly. Sachin is exclusively responsible for the batting collapse. It is time he bids goodbye to cricket. It is possible that he may score a fifty here and a fifty there(then the 'experts' will say crazy advice), but the truth is he is past his peak, and as the saying goes, "one should stop singing when the voice is good". At the moment he seems to be batting for his image and if he does play the way he is doing now, he will soon go down to the ranks of ordinary cricketers from the position of second only to Bradman.

The article is good. It would have been better, if some thoughts were given on the roles played by World-renowned coach and the so called team management. Thanks.

A real pity to see that a writer who wields the pen as well you, Dilip, is still so mired in the swamps of bias. While I have a great deal of regard for Rahul Dravid the batsman (certainly not as skipper), it borders on the laughable when even a dismal series by his standards is turned into this little gem: "If anything, this series only reinforced just how crucial Dravid is to India's Test plans." This man can evidently just do no wrong in your blinkered eyes! All poor Saurav gets, incidentally, is a passing mention of being the highest run-getter. Doubly sad when good writing is marred by bad judgement, day after day, week after week, month after month in your posts. Jaundiced and opinionated viewpoints such as yours does no service to what is ostensibly meant to be objective reportage. Wake up and smell the coffee, for the tide is turning...

I very much agree with the views of the author, specially with reference to the slow crawl by Dravid and Tendulkar on the fourth day. Watching them bat was pathetic. Their body language strongly suggested that they wanted to save the match and not win it. I knew of the result when I saw them batting. Moreover, selecting a totally unfit Munaf Patel (who always gives you the impression that he is a cricketer from the 50s and 60s - he's so laid back) was atrocious, specially when the wicket was supposed to be an "Indian" wicket. What happened to Harbhajan Singh - whose aggression in whatever he does-bowling, fielding or batting. I'm sure his positive approach would have rubbed off on Kumble who looked out of sorts for lack of "spin support" at the other end. Instead, Dravid flogged the old workhorse, Zaheer, till he probably dropped dead. Anyway, Dravid has to learn to play by instinct at times, he gives the impression of not wearing his heart on his sleeve.

An 80year old retired engineer who has played many games,including cricket as an steady opening batsman plus flight giving leg spinner of tantalising length and varying trajectory9A CENTERHALF IN HOCKEY AND BASKETBALL PLAYED SCHOOL,COLLEGE AND LEAGUE TOUIRNAMNTS FOUND IN THIS WRITE UP SHADES OF fINGLETON AND nEVILLE cARDUS;Almost 70Years(From Lord Tennysons Unofficial MCC team)and Jack Ryders Aussies visiting India i ahve seen cricket in all centra in India and as a globe trotter fortunate to watch inEngland and Australia big cricket and we in India had stalwarts(too many to list out in this limited space)and lately we have fallen to the lowest level in performance.May the writings of this script continue more vigorously to inspire our cricketeers to make India feel proud in the realm of this famous Willow game cheers

No mention of how badly Sachin played??? Why shouldn't he be hibernating??? Time for him to either rediscover his passion for cricket or retire???

I wrote a comment right after the first test (which wasn't posted!) saying that India will lose the Durban Test and SA will come back with a vengeance. Losing the series 2-1 is no surprise. There are two big problems with Indian Cricket --- Team Selection and elation/satisfaction after winning a match.
Everyone made a big deal about India winning their first ever Test Match in SA. Well I congratulate them for finally getting the monkey of their back but common!! It’s a little embarrassing to say that "we are going to cherish this win"… And that too after losing the ODI series 4-0. I don’t like to compare teams but India reminded me of England who got so cocky after winning the Ashes in 2005 that they didn't seem to care and deservedly got walloped by Australia (5-0!). But to England’s credit, atleast they won the Ashes! In short what I am trying to say is that winning a test match is not equivalent to winning a series.
Other thing that I want to mention is the "surprising omission” of Gautam Gambhir. Let me tell you and the whole of India one thing --- He's the best batsman in India right now. He scored 74* (retired hurt)in his only tour game and that’s it…. However, “Team India” wants to give Jaffer & Sehwag more chances to prove themselves. This kid has never been given a chance. I believe Jaffer is in for 6-7 more test matches after that century!
Finally I do want to put my team for the WC. Barring no injuries, I believe this team has a great chance to make it to the Semi Finals:
Gambhir, Sehwag, Tendulkar (at three), Yuvraj, Dravid, Mongia/, Dhoni, Harbhajan, Sreesanth, Zaheer & Patel. Playing 5 bowlers is no use because Sehwag or Tendulkar end up bowling 10 overs anyway.
What do you think Dileep?

Excellent article!! There is another article on cricinfo by Dileep that ranks the players by their series performance. Is it a mere coincidence or a lesson to learn that all the top performers had something to prove in this series or else get canned (except for Anil Kumble who brings Australia like professionalism with his hard work and discipline)? Our cricket team proves once again it is not the talent that wins consistently, but the heart. I'm a big fan of Dravid, but I can't help but criticize him for his team's lack of heart and as the leader he needs to question his approach in motivating his players. He repeatedly quotes that at this level he does not have to do that. Based on the recent performances, I question that. Ironically, he does not need to spend any time with the youngsters, but he has his work cutout with respect to the seniors. How often we get a chance to win a test series in South Africa. After being ahead for three days in the final test, they needed to grind it out for the last two days to win the series, but we just folded. Dravid, time to rethink your approach towards the players and time to take some tough decisions.

A note to Vengsarkar - it is high time we drop Sehwag from test probables and give more chances to hardworking young players like Kaif. Whatever happended to Ashok Chopra who was an outstanding opener for us during our last Australian tour.

The article is not really an analysis of what went wrong is it? Mr. Premachandran does mention the batting failure and bowling ineffectiveness. But why is there no mention of the lack of leadership? What is Rahul Dravid's role in the team? Is he only another batsman from whom we expect half centuries? When a test match is lost from a winning position (India made 414 in the first innings!) the captain should hang down his head in shame and accept full responsibility. That India couldn't defeat a team who are themselves struggling to find form, speaks of the captain's failure first. Is it possible that he couldn't read the pitch and thus chose to exclude Harbhajan Singh? On that turning track, Sachin could could have caused havoc had he got more overs to bowl. The way Dravid struggled against a debutante spinner, he must have realised what his spinners could do. That he failed to apply any pressure and get the Indians enthused on the field is a direct pointer to his lack of leadership abilities. And this is not the first time he has made a mess of a test match. The test series in Pakistan was already for all to see. It really is strange why the captain is let off so easily, even by experienced writers as Mr Premachandran. There is no harm in calling a spade a spade. Rahul is a bad captain, accept it for the good of Indian cricket.

How many times have India lost a 3 match test series after winnning the 1st?
As a South African the one dayers were a complete disaster. The top order from both teams were shocking. The difference was that lack of a match winner for India. They had in the past a guy like Robin Singh who was a feared match winner.
The first test scared everyone here. I think that this is probably the best test conditions that India will ever experience in SA and consequently they threw away their greatest chance to win in SA.
Sreesanth was amazing with Zaheer. The Indian batsmen got out in terrible ways. The 2nd Innings in Cape Town showed how disorganised they were. Run outs broke them.
The pitches in the end as Robin Jackman pointed out would have had the label ''made in india'' behind them.
With the world cup approaching its going to be tough to get up. It was refreshing to see Laxman and Gangully back. They both however showeed their weaknesses. But they appiled themselves well.
South Africa showed that they truly never give up.

Dileep,
U are excessively BIASED toward Dinesh Karthik, for reasons better known to you. I have seen this trend in most of your articles, esp during the one day series too. How on earth can one justify his presence in the one-day team, that too as a SPECIALIST batsmen is a question that still hovers. He is a good keeper, and at best, a good replacement for Dhoni. Surely he shud be around as a back-up keeper to keep Dhoni on his toes, but all he did in the Capetown test was fill a gap temporarily. We cant go back to the days of having deepdas gupta, or nayan mongia or MSK Prasad or most recently, parthiv Patel, open the batting for us. We can clearly see how technical deficiencies are being exposed even in remotely seam friendly pitches. We need to have Sehwag in form, and a perfect foil to partner him..someone like Akash chopra..who can hold up one end. Back to Dinesh Karthik's one day selection, he shud never have got selected ahead of Raina, or Kaif. They need to be given the freedom to perform naturally..as we have seen they have the talent. Well...my two cents on this. But it would be good if you could be a lil more tactful in ur comments to back up a guy like Karthik, as it clearly gives away where ur loyalties lie to anyone who follows cricinfo as ardently as i do!