SA vs India Test reminds the visitors that cricket is a team sport

Despite Virat Kohli's tantrums that South Africa weren't competitive in India just over two years ago‚ the visitors were well beaten at South Africa's cricketing fortress and they have no reason to complain.

135 runs is a wide victory margin by any stretch of the imagination and effectively‚ it was always a case of the administration of the last rites once man-of-the-match Lungi Ngidi prised out the key wicket of Kohli late on the fourth evening.

Having picked only six specialist batsmen and two all-rounders‚ 287 was a bridge too far‚ especially when India were 26/3 with their best overseas batsmen in the match-day 11 all back in the shed.

With the highest successful SuperSport Park fourth-innings run-chase being 251 in a South Africa/England match that needed two innings forfeitures at the turn of the Millennium‚ history was always going to be against India based on their current and historical struggles with Test series win in Australia‚ England and South Africa.

One has to go back nearly 11 years go for India's last series win in England while they have nothing to show for their efforts in Australia dating back to their maiden 1946/47 tour while still drawing a series blank in South Africa since 1992/93.

Since their last Test match win against South Africa in the 2010 Boxing Day Test in Durban‚ India have won only one other Test (Lords 2014) against the big three nations in 24 attempts.

They also haven't won in New Zealand in the same time-frame‚ which speaks volumes of how India have reverted to their 1980's and 1990's type of being masters at home and mice on the road.

While Kohli seemingly forgot about India's poor record against the big three plus New Zealand‚ with hindsight it's perfectly understandable considering the dominance they have exerted against all comers at home.

Going into this series‚ Kohli had masterminded series wins against all these teams at home on various types of surfaces that most importantly‚ lacked the pace‚ bounce and movement that's often limited to the first day in Asian test series.

Out of 16 Tests against these sides since 2015‚ India won 12‚ lost one and drew three.

No wonder Kohli's bubble was as big as Jupiter but home comforts have done this to previous Indian teams.

Six of their past nine series wins came in at home while the other three wins were in Sri Lanka (two) and the West Indies.

There was method to India's madness when they requested green-tops for their Sri Lanka Test series but the replication of conditions also needs a skilled bowling attack to consistently test them.

Apart from the first innings decimation led by Suranga Lakmal in the first Test in Kolkata‚ the majority of that series was a middle-net where Kohli collected 610 runs.

However‚ Southern Hemisphere conditions paired with the skill‚ pace and the intensity of the South African bowling attack was not there for them.

This was clear in the second Test where a collective South African effort out batted‚ out bowled and more importantly‚ out-thought the Indians.

What often goes unsaid are the flat pitches South African first-class bowlers often have to encounter in the franchise competitions‚ especially in the 2017 season.

There was only one out-right result in the five Sunfoil Series rounds.

While Ottis Gibson's impact has been immediate‚ there's a clear appreciation of knowing when to attack and bowl dry.

The ability to adapt quickly has also been apparent‚ especially on the parched SuperSport Park surface where even Kohli was reined in despite his enchanting innings.

Him and Pandya are the only Indian batsmen to have crossed 50 while each of South Africa's top five batsmen have contributed half-centuries at various stages.

It's reminder that cricket is a team sport and something India will have to ponder if they want to entertain thoughts of beating England and Australia later this year.