Lions no more on home soil: Bavuma’s troops rewrite India’s home legacy

For more than a decade, visiting teams spoke of India as cricket's "final frontier" -- a phrase immortalised by former Australia captain Steve Waugh, who believed conquering India was the ultimate test of a side's skill and character. 

Yet that once-mythic frontier now feels less impenetrable, and Temba Bavuma's South Africa have delivered the latest, loudest confirmation: a ruthless 2-0 sweep that proved India are lions no more on their own turf.

The unraveling of India's home dominance began last year when New Zealand stunned them 3-0, ending a 12-year unbeaten streak. South Africa, however, have turned that crack into a chasm. 

Their 408-run humiliation of India in Guwahati — the hosts' heaviest defeat by runs — capped their first Test series win in India in 25 years and exposed vulnerabilities once unthinkable on Indian soil.

The fallout was immediate and stark. Harsha Bhogle lamented that the aura around India at home was "disappearing in the distance," while local headlines called the once-fearsome side "lambs to the slaughter." Coach Gautam Gambhir was even booed after yet another home loss — India's fifth in their last seven Tests.

The causes run deeper than form. India are navigating a turbulent transition after the exits of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin from Test cricket. Their historic mastery of spin — the bedrock of Waugh's "final frontier" mystique — has flipped dramatically. 

South Africa's Simon Harmer exploited this fragility, tearing through India's line-up for 17 wickets, while only Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravindra Jadeja managed a lone fifty each across four innings.

South Africa, meanwhile, executed their plans with precision. Despite the absence of Kagiso Rabada, Bavuma's side showed composure and depth. 

Senuran Muthusamy produced the only century of the series, Marco Jansen dazzled with all-round brilliance, Aiden Markram took a record nine catches, and Harmer's spin mastery sealed India's misery. Even the pitch controversy in Kolkata could not overshadow the dominance of Bavuma's men.

The sweep cements South Africa's status as legitimate long-format world champions and consolidates their standing near the top of the World Test Championship. As Bavuma said, savouring the moment: "We've been on the other side of the result… We know how tough it can be. For this group, it's another incredible achievement."

India, now languishing in fifth place, confront a sobering reality. Captain Shubman Gill, injured after Test one, offered optimism — "Calm seas don't teach you how to steer" — but the storm around Indian Test cricket is real. The once-terrifying challenge of touring India has flipped; teams no longer fear the frontier Waugh once revered. Many, as Dinesh Karthik suggested, now "lick their lips" at the prospect.

The final frontier has been breached again. Bavuma's troops didn't just conquer India -- they exposed how far the former lions of home soil have fallen.