Most teams celebrate if they stay unbeaten for 15 Tests and SA managed to stay unbeaten overseas for 15 series. This record in the era of ‘home dominance’ tells you how good they were for nearly a decade. But all good things eventually come to an end and their unbeaten run has ended in Nagpur. The secret to continue winning across the world is to either train your horses to succeed on all courses or pick different horses for different courses, and it felt for the first time that SA had come unprepared.

Castled: South Africa’s Faf du Plessis is bowled by India’s leg-spinner Amit Mishra at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur yesterday. Pic/AFP