Ravi Shastri put it well. Speaking on TV after the game, in his passionate, inimitable style, he spelt out the reason for this Indian Test team's emergence as arguably the world's best.
" Bhaad mein gaya pitch. Bees wicket nikaalna hain (We don't care about the pitch; our goal is to take 20 wickets)," he thundered.
Before heading on its tour of India, South Africa would have been acutely aware of the strength of the opponent's bowling attack, and its ability to bowl teams out in all conditions. But what the touring party did not perhaps expect was to play on pitches that did not overwhelmingly support spin bowling.
No dustbowls
India did not roll out any dustbowls; what South Africa played on instead, were sporting Test-match surfaces that had a bit of everything. And over the three Tests this month, the inadequacy of South Africa's own pace attack lay thoroughly exposed.
India's seamers finished the series with 26 wickets, at an average of 17.5. South Africa's quicks managed only 10 wickets, averaging 70.2. Indeed, the home team's pace attack claimed only six fewer wickets than its spinners (32).
India simply did not miss Jasprit Bumrah, who sat this series out with a back injury.
On day three of the final Test, South Africa's Zubayr Hamza had suggested that his side should have been better prepared mentally to handle India's seamers. Perhaps equally importantly, South Africa's own pacers should have bowled the right lengths and attacked the stumps more, which is something Shami and Umesh did throughout.
"The Indian seamers showed the South African fast bowling attack how to bowl," du Plessis admitted. "The pace, the consistency, the skill. And it is a learning for us, when we play in the subcontinent, that our style of bowling is not successful. We have to adapt.
“Someone like Dale Steyn was effective in subcontinent conditions because he does have a similar skill-set [to the Indian bowlers], as a skiddy bowler who hits the stumps. Whereas if you are missing the stumps a lot or bouncing it over the stumps, it's not as effective here."
Shami (44.2) and Umesh (48.7) now have the highest strike-rates of any Indian fast bowler in home conditions (minimum 10 Tests). After the match, Virat Kohli felt their success had been down to more than just skill. Improved fitness levels was a factor, he argued, as was mindset.
Attitude
"Say for example, on a green pitch when the openers come to bat and if they think the opposition hasn't gotten runs so even we might not, then they will obviously fail," he said.
"So in the same way, if the fast bowlers believe they can make something happen even if there is nothing in the pitch, they really can. Because that's the kind of effort you are bowling with. If you just give up, you can't succeed. It's the mindset. They don't want easy cricket. Even if the ball is doing a little bit, they ask for the ball."
They asked for it a lot this last month, and Kohli was only too happy to oblige.
