Quote:India’s remarkable run of the past three or so years has propelled them to the top of the Test rankings. Since they went down in Australia in 2014-15, they have racked up an impressive list of series victories. One caveat, however, is that the vast majority of those victories occurred at home, where they are near unbeatable.

That this was considered India’s best opportunity of earning a series win in South Africa has made the criticism and the discontentment more acute. Disappointment is only deep when expectations are high. The ire that flowed from the dissatisfaction with the series loss, including angry outbursts from captain Kohli, has been understandable if somewhat over the top.

A lot of fans are seriously hurt when their team loses, especially if think their team needlessly squandered the good opportunities they had. And like the Arsenal TV regulars, they were unsparing in their reprimand of the guilty parties.

Susan Kraus Whitbourne is an emerita professor of psychology at the University of Massachussets Amherst. Writing in Psychology Today a few years ago, she contended that “Research shows that on the day after a team's win, people feel better about themselves,” and will rejoice because “we won.” In contrast, when the team is trounced it is “they” who lost, and we are quick to distances ourselves from the same team we applauded in victory.

India didn’t become a bad team overnight. This is largely the same India team that was lavishly acclaimed as they dominated teams at home. They are a good team stopped by strong opponents made even stronger by the comfort of their own surroundings and the forthright outlook that playing at home triggers.