Who said what - Top 5 expert reactions to India's heavy loss to South Africa in 1st Test ft. Ravi Shastri 

South Africa gave Team India a proper thrashing as they registered a huge win by an innings and 32 runs in the recently concluded first game of the two-Test match series. The match, which took place at the SuperSport Park in Centurion, lasted just three days.

After putting India to bat first, Kagiso Rabada's fifer helped South Africa restrict India to 245 in the first innings. KL Rahul was the sole contributor for India as he hammered 101.

In reply, the Proteas batters put up a superb show and scored 408 to gain a huge 163-run first-innings lead. Opener Dean Elgar played a magnificent knock as he plundered 185 runs with the help of 28 fours.

In an attempt to make a game out of the situation, the Indian batters faulted and were bundled out for just 131 runs to lose the encounter by an innings and 32 runs. Virat Kohli did his bit and made a solid 76.

With an extremely poor show in the first Test, India's dream of conquering the final frontier, i.e., a Test series win in South Africa, keeps continuing.

On the back of India's thumping loss to South Africa, various cricket pundits and experts shared their views and dissected where India went wrong. On that note, here are the top five expert reactions to India's heavy loss to South Africa in the first Test.

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#1 Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan of England [Getty Images]

While Michael Vaughan wasn't part of the commentary panel for the SA-IND Test, he was present on Fox Cricket to cover the second Test match between Australia and Pakistan.

During the lunch break on Day 4 of the Test match in Melbourne, Vaughan labelled India as huge underachievers and highlighted their lack of major victories.

"Here's a question for you - India, in terms of cricket, are they one of the most under-achieving sports team in the world?" Vaughan said on Fox Cricket.

Following India's crumbling defeat to South Africa, Vaughan answered his own question, saying:

"Well, I think they are (under-achievers). They don’t win anything. When was the last time they had won something? With all the talent they have, all the skills and resources? But the last two World Cups, nowhere. T20 World Cup, nowhere."

The Men in Blue lost the World Test Championship (WTC) final and the ODI 2023 World Cup final against Australia earlier this year as well.

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#2 Sanjay Bangar

Sanjay Bangar for Team India [Getty Images]

Former India cricketer and assistant coach, Sanjay Bangar also shared his opinion on the Indian team after the Test loss. During the post-match show on Star Sports, Bangar pointed out that the visitors were a bit overconfident in their approach, which led to their downfall.

"I just felt that probably the Indian team, sort of, anticipated the South African batting innings to fold up very cheaply. And right at the start of the innings, inside 15 overs, there were five bowling changes. That doesn't really happen often. Because generally with the new ball, you want to give those bowlers longer spells," Bangar told Star Sports.

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#3 Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar - A reputed Indian cricket expert [Getty Images]

Sanjay Manjrekar, who was also present at the Star Sports show, echoed Sanjay Bangar's thoughts and felt that the Indian bowlers rushed in an attempt to skittle out the Proteas unit.

He even lauded the way Dean Elgar batted for his match-winning score of 185.

Offering his views after the loss, Manjrekar resonated with Bangar, saying that overconfidence and faulty assessment led to India faltering. He said:

"So, he (Sanjay Bangar) is spot on. You saw the way Jasprit Bumrah was bowling. They were trying to get a wicket every ball. Even Mohammed Siraj, and later Prasidh (Krishna) and all those changes and the tactics we saw was India trying to skittle South Africa out for a 150."

He continued:

"So the lesson learnt is that you can't be going into any match feeling that confident and Dean Elgar was the big difference. I mean had he (Elgar) failed in that innings, India was right back in the Test match."

Dean Elgar also assumed the role of the captain during the Test as Temba Bavuma was ruled out of the game due to a hamstring injury.

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#4 Ravi Shastri

India v England - ICC Men's Cricket World Cup India 2023

Former World Cup winner and India head coach, Ravi Shastri also had his say after the loss. He lambasted the Indian bowling attack and pointed out that the team needs to find a proper third seamer in the absence of Mohammed Shami.

While reviewing the match on Star Sports, Shastri underlined that the Indian team dearly missed Shami, saying:

"Two bowlers were decently experienced - Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. But then, they missed Shami big time in this Test match. Yes, Shardul has experience. He (Shardul) is not a baby, but he is not the third seamer. You need a proper third seamer in overseas conditions.”

Apart from this, Shastri even backed the prospect of Arshdeep Singh playing Tests for India. While lauding his ability to swing the ball, Shastri suggested Arshdeep to play more first-class matches in order to get ready for Test cricket.

"The fact is, you have to see his (Arshdeep's) first-class record. Can he bowl long spells? Has he played a lot of Ranji Trophy cricket? I would, in fact, make him go and play a lot of Ranji Trophy cricket. Frist-class cricket. I would keep him in the mix because if someone can swing it, like he did with the white-ball in South Africa, he could be a handy customer here," Shastri commented.

Arshdeep, who has 38 wickets across 12 first-class matches to his name, had a brilliant ODI series against South Africa recently. In the three games, the left-arm pacer scalped 10 wickets and was even named the Player of the Series.

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#5 Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra opined that India didn't put up a fight vs South Africa [Getty Images]

Another former Indian cricketer, Aakash Chopra, also shared his thoughts on the humbling defeat. He pinpointed the performances of almost every player and felt that, barring KL Rahul in the first innings and Virat Kohli in the second innings, none of the Indian players looked convincing.

Chopra said that no Indian batter showed gritty character and put a price tag on their wickets. While commenting on Jio Cinema's daily sports show ‘#AAKASHVANI’, the 46-year-old said:

"An innings defeat is quite humbling. Except for (KL) Rahul in the first innings and (Virat) Kohli in the second, the others did not look convincing. No one looked like willing to play ugly, take body blows and stick around. Rohit Sharma was out to (Kagiso) Rabada in both innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal is still far from figuring out these conditions. Shreyas Iyer didn’t look good. India needed to bat four-five sessions which did not happen."

Apart from this, Chopra even identified some technical issues in Shubman Gill's batting and adviced him to score more runs. While stating that Gill started off his Test career in Australia well but has dwindled down somewhat in red-ball cricket, Chopra uttered:

"Gill was impressive in the series against Australia when India toured, and looked like a player for the future. He’s batted well in ODIs which is his favorite format and done modestly in T20s. But in Tests, against England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies, I don’t think he has performed well. So, there is a question mark. He started off as an opener."

He continued:

"Then he batted at No 3. Eventually he wants to bat at No. 4 is what I feel. But he needs to start scoring runs. There’s a slight technical deficiency in his batting, too. He’s a player who likes to play mostly with his hands and does not rely mainly on his feet. So, this approach may suit flat pitches and white ball cricket. But that does not work in Test cricket.”

Gill, who proved to be the highest ODI run-getter this year, was dismissed cheaply in both innings in Centurion. Across six Test matches this year, Gill has scored 258 runs at an ordinary average of 28.67.

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