IND vs SA: Top 5 Shocking Test Results for India Under Head Coach Gautam Gambhir

Team India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is currently under immense scrutiny as his side suffered a batting collapse in the Guwahati Test and is staring at the series whitewash at the hands of the visiting South Africa team, led by Temba Bavuma. Gambhir has come under fire from fans and pundits, with many criticizing his strategy and team selection.

After Gautam Gambhir took over as India’s head coach last year, succeeding Rahul Dravid, Team India managed to win only a Test series, which was against Bangladesh, in over a year, struggling in major contests and failing to maintain the consistency expected of a top-ranked side.

On that note, let’s take a look at the top 5 shocking Test results for India during Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as a head coach thus far.

Team India has been quite dominant on home soil across all formats of the game, leveraging familiar conditions. When it comes to Test cricket, India were the force to be reckoned with at home as they did not lose a single Test series in 12 years, from 2012 to 2024. However, the unbeaten streak came to an abrupt halt under head coach Gautam Gambhir. In the three-match Test series against New Zealand last year, India’s unbeaten streak over a decade came to an end, marking a rare defeat on home soil.

After losing the Bengaluru Test by 8 wickets, India suffered a 113-run defeat to New Zealand in the second match in Pune, marking an unprecedented back-to-back Test defeats and ending their 18-Test series’ winning streak on home soil. This was the first major setback for Gautam Gambhir as head coach in Tests.

Having dominated Test cricket at home for 12 years, without losing a series, India found themselves whitewashed by New Zealand 3-0 last year. Having already lost the three-match series following defeat in Bengaluru and Pune, India suffered their first series whitewash after losing the Mumbai Test. It was the first Test series whitewash for India at home since South Africa beat them 2-0 in 2000.

In the Mumbai Test, Team India failed to chase down a less than 200-run target for the first time at home, as they were bundled out for 121 while chasing 147. The Test series whitewash at the hands of New Zealand was another big setback for Team India at home, as it exposed vulnerabilities in India’s batting and strategy under Gautam Gambhir, marking it one of the most shocking home defeats in recent history.

Team India was the retainer of the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a decade, having dominated Australia at home and abroad. India won two consecutive Test series on Australian soil in 2019 and 2021, demonstrating consistent superiority at home and abroad. However, under head coach Gautam Gambhir, India lost the prestigious trophy to Australia following a 1-3 series defeat, ending a 10-year streak of retaining it.

Moreover, Team India suffered a back-to-back Test series defeat for the first time in 10 years, marking a significant downturn in their dominance, raising questions over strategy. team selection, and leadership under head coach Gautam Gambhir.

In the first Test against England at Headingley in Leeds, Team India witnessed four players scoring five centuries, two by Rishabh Pant, and once each by Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and KL Rahul. Despite five centuries at Leeds, India still lost the opening match of the England series, a huge failure by the lower order cost them dearly.

With this, India became the first team in the history of Test cricket to lose a match after five centuries, surpassing Australia’s 4 tally of individual centuries in a losing cause against England in the 1928/29 Ashes. This was another stunning low point under Gautam Gambhir, highlighting India’s inability to convert individual brilliance into a team victory.

Before the ongoing Test series, Team India had not lost a match to South Africa in 15 years, winning seven matches in 8 outings. However, India’s long-standing dominance over the Proteas came to an end after losing the first Test of the ongoing series at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata.

The 30-run defeat in Kolkata marked India’s first loss to South Africa since 2010, ending a 15-year streak of dominance and another shocking result under Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as a head coach. Moreover, for the second time, India failed to chase down a target of less than 200 at home as they were bundled out for 93 while chasing 124.