The India Test series… and the way they saw it as the sorry tale unfolded. Quotes from the Press conferences

‘It will be important for the players to get into their Test match roles again and to change the mindset. We have to go back to the basics … Working your game out against spin is quite crucial. You have to wrap your head around facing a lot of spin.’ – Stiaan van Zyl

‘A lot of the rumours and media speculation has been around the wickets being very spin friendly, although Mohali doesn’t have that reputation’ – Russell Domingo

At Mohali. India won by 108 runs

‘I think the way forward is to be positive. We expected it to play like that but we didn’t think it was going to crumble as much as it has already. – Dean Elgar

‘I have seen a lot of spinners in the past coming here and finding it difficult. It’s the pace, the tactics and the pressure It’s about managing that and keeping them positive. It’s all about going back to the basics. – spin coach Claude Henderson  

‘We could have applied ourselves a bit better. There were certain decisions that we made while we were batting that were not the right decisions. The ball wasn’t turning much and there were a few errors in decision-making that cost us.’ – Hashim Amla.

Before the second Test, Bengaluru. 

‘The pressure is always there, it doesn’t matter where you play. It’s how you cope with it that will set you apart. – Imran Tahir 

‘We have learnt a lot from the conditions and what will be thrown at us from the last game… It’s key for all of us right down to the No 11 to contribute with the bat. It showed in the last game how vital each and every run can be.’ – Vernon Philander

‘We are expecting turning wickets, whether we go to Bangalore or Delhi, we are prepared for that. We have worked really hard at our game and I feel we have covered all of the bases. — AB de Villiers

At Bangaluru.  Match washed out. SA 214. India 80-0

‘From a team point of view I don’t see a lot of positives to take to be honest, but every time there is a disappointing session or a disappointing day of cricket, it is the reflection that happens afterwards that is more valuable than most things.’ – Hashim Amla

Before the third Test, Nagpur 

‘We know that it’s a tough challenge for us but we also know that we have the capabilities to counter those challenges. We have done it before – JP Duminy.

‘Everyone has a different game plan according to which bowler they are going to face. It’s about sticking to your own game plan and making sure that you are confident with that plan. That is what these three days of preparation are about, it’s making sure you are confident going into the game from a preparation point of view.’ – Duminy

‘We need to play good disciplined cricket, we need to be tough regardless of what the conditions throw at us, we have to be in a mentally good place. Yes, the conditions will be tough but somebody needs to put up their hand and take it on. – Morne Morkel

‘We are 1-0 down so it is certainly a must-win match for us to stay in the series. It does allow us to play with risk but that is the mentality that we came here with, we came here to win the series. – Hashim Amla

At Nagpur. India won by 124 runs

‘We know that we have the players capable of pulling off what would definitely go down as one of the greatest chases in the game so we have to have that belief… the plan was not to play loosely, but look to score.  We want to be positive in our defence and positive when we are attacking. It didn’t work this morning, unfortunately. – Russell Domingo

‘It’s been tough for their batters as well. Given the quality of spinners the Indians do have, obviously it’s going to be a lot tougher for us in these conditions… These have probably been three of the toughest days I have experienced in my Test career. –  Hasim Amla

Before the fourth Test, Delhi

‘It’s important for us to try and keep them [younger players] positive, and we’ve done that. What we have to try and do is to focus on the positives.  The good thing about it is you can learn from this, improve your game. This is a huge learning curve for us.’ – Faf du Plessis.

‘We are trying to recreate the rough in nets, taking a stump and putting it behind the footmarks, to try and replicate the match situation. We have Claude Henderson, who used to bowl left-arm spin, now he throws left-arm spin. I used to bowl leg-spin, so I bowl from a shortened run to try and simulate Mishra. And then we have a bunch of guys who try to deliver balls like Ashwin, so we try to make it as similar to the match.’ – assistant coach Adrian Birrell.

At Delhi. India won by 337 runs

‘I thought our preparation was as good as it has been for every other Test match. We’ve just been outplayed here over two days, that’s the bottom line. It’s obviously very disappointing, we didn’t bat very well this afternoon, we have a lot of thinking to do. It just wasn’t good enough as a performance… Once we’ve been under pressure, we’ve fallen away badly, and they haven’t. Their lower order and their middle order have fought back, and have managed to give them good scores, we haven’t been able to do that.’ – Russell Domingo

‘It’s a tough ask, asking guys to bat 90 overs. But we have the experience, we have the skills, so definitely whatever happens, we will go down fighting.’ – Temba Bavuma