Gautam Gambhir's Test record as a coach stands at a well under-par 7 wins, 10 defeats and 2 draws in 19 matches for win percentage of 36.82.
When Gautam Gambhir took charge as head coach of the Indian men's cricket team in mid-2024, hopes were high.
The aura of home advantage -- long regarded as a hallmark of India's Test side -- seemed secure. But in barely over a year, that fortress has not just cracked, it has collapsed, raising uncomfortable questions about strategy, selection, and temperament.
India crashed to their third Test series defeat under Gambhir when South Africa handed them a sound 0-2 beating with a win in Guwahati on Wednesday, completing 16 months of turbulent ride.
It all started when India suffered a humiliating 0-3 whitewash at home against New Zealand -- their first whitewash in a three-Test home series.
The fall has been steep thereafter as India lost away to Australia 1-3, and now to the Proteas.
Gambhir's Test record as a coach stands at a well under-par 7 wins, 10 defeats and 2 draws in 19 matches for win percentage of 36.82.
He is only behind Duncan Fletcher, whose win percentage is 33.33 after 17 loses, 13 wins, 9 draws from 39 Tests.
Have a look at India's eight Test defeats under Gambhir against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa:
Eight-wicket loss in Bengaluru
It was New Zealand's first Test win on Indian soil in 36 years. To make things worse, India were dismissed for a paltry 46 in the first innings -- their lowest team total ever in a home Test.
It was the first time India were bowled out for a total below 50 at home. After dismissing India for 46 and making 402 in reply, New Zealand bowled out Rohit Sharma's side for 462 in the second innings to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
113-run drubbing in Pune
While the pacers called the shots in the series opener, Indian batters succumbed to the guile of New Zealand spinners in the second Test in Pune.
The trio of Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips shared 13 wickets among them as India suffered their second loss on the trot.
25-run defeat in Mumbai
After Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja combined to scalp eight wickets to bowl the visitors out for 174 in their second innings, India needed 147 runs to register a consolation win and avoid a whitewash at home.
Rishabh Pant made a valiant 57-ball 64, but no other batter could withstand Patel (6/57) and Phillips's (3/42) onslaught. Eventually, India fell agonisingly short of the target after being bundled out for 121.
10-wicket loss in Adelaide
India began the tour Down Under with a 295 run win in the first Test in Perth. However, in the Day-Night second Test in Adelaide, the Indian batters came a cropper against the moving ball.
Mitchell Starc (6/48) and Travis Head (140) put the hosts in the driver's seat initially before Skipper Pat Cummins (5/57) ran through the Indian batting line-up with ruthless precision. Australia needed just 19 runs to level the series which they did without any hassles.
184-run crushing in Melbourne
After drawing the rain-marred third Test in Brisbane, India headed into the fourth Test in Melbourne without Ashwin, who announced his retirement from top-level cricket after the third game was washed out.
Australia posted a mammoth total in their first innings, thanks to a brilliant 140 by Steve Smith. In reply, debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy scored a fabulous hundred, but India conceded a first-innings lead in excess of 100 runs.
Chasing 340 runs to level the series, only Yashasvi Jaiswal put up some resistance with a 208-ball 84, but the rest of the batters could manage only 71 runs as India were skittled for 155.
Loss by six wickets in Sydney
Unlike in Adelaide and Melbourne, India were very much in the game in Sydney, but lost the final Test after fumbling in crucial moments. Batting first, India posted 185, thanks to Rishabh Pant's 40 off 98 balls.
Australia managed just 181 runs in their first innings as India's pacers Jasprit Bumrah (2/33), Mohammed Siraj (3/51), Prasidh Krishna (3/42) and Nitish Reddy (2-32) came up with an impressive show.
India were all for 157 in their second essay, with Pant once again doing the bulk of the scoring with a counter-attacking 33-ball 61.The Aussies, chasing 162 to go 3-1 up in the series, suffered a mini collapse and were 58 for three at one point. However, they reached the target with the loss of four wickets in 27 overs.
For Australia, pacer Scott Boland delivered an explosive performance, returning figures of 4/31 and 6/45 across two innings.
30-run defeat in Kolkata
The inability of Indian batters to handle quality spin bowling was on display in the first Test against world champions South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Off-spinner Simon Harmer bagged a match haul of 8-51 as the Indian batting line-up faltered inexplicably in their chase of 124 on a tricky Kolkata pitch and were all out for 93. Pacer Marco Jansen too shone with the ball for the Proteas, grabbing eight wickets across two innings giving away 50 runs.
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408-run hammering in Guwahati
The Guwahati Test resulted in India's heaviest-ever home defeat by runs -- bowled out for 140 while chasing 549.
After taking a first innings lead of 288, South Africa set a target of 549 in front of India, who fell like ten pins,.
Harmer returned figures of 6-37 as South Africa clinched a Test series in India for only the second time, the first in 2000 under Hansie Cronje.
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