Gambhir's Collective Mantra: Why India's Eden Gardens Defeat Was a Team Failure

Stressing that the loss was not down to any single department. Reflecting on the result, Gambhir said that the responsibility of winning or losing lies with the entire unit.

"First thing is that you lose as a team and win as a team. It's not like a single department wins a test match and a single department loses a test match. It's not like that. So if a bowler has a bat in his hand, his job is to make a run. If a batsman is asked to bowl, his job is to take a wicket. So it's not that we lose a Test match because of the batsmen. We lose because of 11 players and more than 11, because of everyone in the dressing room, we lose a test match. When we win, we win together. When we lose, we lose together, " Gambhir said after the match.

He also emphasised the need to improve India's skill and temperament on turning tracks at home.

"Yes, the important thing is whether we can improve our skill against the spin. Can we improve our temperament? If we want to play at home on such wickets, where it's not easy to play big shots but we have to get used to grafting, then we have to improve that," he noted.

India's defeat at Eden Gardens also placed the match in a statistical context, as the target of 124 became the second-lowest total India have failed to chase down in Test history. The lowest remains 120 against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1997. Other such instances include 147 against New Zealand at Wankhede in 2024, 176 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2015, 193 against England at Lord's in 2025 and 194 against England at Edgbaston in 2011.

The result also marked South Africa's second-lowest successful defence in Test cricket. Their lowest remains 117 against Australia in Sydney in 1994. Apart from the 124 defended in Kolkata, they have also defended 146 against Pakistan in Faisalabad in 1997 and 177 against Sri Lanka in Kandy in 2000.

This match additionally entered the list of lowest targets successfully defended in India. The record stands with India defending 107 against Australia at Wankhede in 2004. South Africa's 124 at Eden Gardens in 2025 is next, followed by New Zealand defending 147 at Wankhede in 2024 and India defending 170 against South Africa in Ahmedabad in 1996.

Earlier in the match, India bowled out South Africa for 159 after being asked to bowl first on a pitch that offered the bowlers variable bounce and proved to be tough for batting India, however, found batting just as hard and were dismissed for 189. KL Rahul top-scored with a gritty 39 while Rishabh Pant helped with a quick 27 off just 24 balls. Ravindra Jadeja's 27-run innings also helped India gain a 30-run lead. For South Africa, Harmer stood out with a four-wicket haul, while Marco Jansen claimed three wickets.

Trailing by 30 runs, South Africa posted 153 in their second innings, giving India a target of 124. Most of the visiting batters found Jadeja's spin difficult to handle, but captain Temba Bavuma showed resilience with a gritty 55, the only half-century of the match. Bosch added a valuable 25 to keep the innings going. Jadeja finished with figures of 4 for 50 from 20 overs, while Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj picked up two wickets each, and Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah took one apiece.

- ANI