Guwahati: Stand-in captain Rishabh Pant on Wednesday admitted that India must improve as a Test side and said that victories cannot be taken for granted merely because the team is playing at home.

South Africa thrashed India by 408 runs in the second Test to complete a 2-0 series sweep, their first such victory in India since the Hansie Cronje-led side triumphed in the 1999-2000 series.

“It's little disappointing. As a team, we need to get better. We need to give credit to the opposition. They dominated the series, but at the same time, you can't take cricket for granted (because of playing at home),” Pant said at the post-match presentation.

Pant stressed the need for reflection and improvement following the loss. “We need to take the learning and stick as a team. We needed to be clear with our mindset. In the future, we need to learn from it and get better.”

The wicketkeeper-batter acknowledged South Africa’s dominance throughout the series. “They played better cricket; cricket demands that you need to capitalise as a team. And we did not do that, and that cost us the whole series. The positive will be focusing on our own plan, and that's what we will take from this series,” he added.

South African skipper Temba Bavuma expressed delight at the series win. “It's massive. For me personally, I've been out of the game for a couple of months with injury. Not every day you can come to India and walk away with a 2-0 series win. What's special is that we had dark days as a group, and it's a credit to them. There's a big shift in our mindsets in terms of what we want to do. I think our preparation is something — guys go out there looking to contribute,” Bavuma said.

He praised spinners Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj for their partnership and consistency. “Simon has the experience of playing here in India in 2015; he complements Keshav quite well. Bit more guile with the ball, it's a struggle to take the ball out of their hands. Simon was the man for us in this series,” Bavuma said.

Off-spinner Harmer, who was named Player of the Series, said it was a satisfying moment for him. “Like I said in the last Test, it's been a long road. 10 years later, a completely different feeling. Will leave with a lot more fonder memories from then. To beat a very good Indian team is a hell of an effort. I was just watching our second innings, after 40 overs, the ball got softer, and it became easier. But there was the oddball, the ball that Rishabh got. Nice to contribute, nice to get wickets and nice to get a fifer in India,” he said.

Marco Jansen, who was named Player of the Match for scoring 93 runs in the first innings and taking seven wickets in the match, said the win was a special one. “Winning any game is a nice feeling, and winning in India is special. It's a team performance. We spoke about sticking to our own things. Got to give credit to Shuks (SA head coach Shukri Conrad), he told me to go out and play my game. I was nervous in the first Test. Everyone is working hard, our prep as a team and in an individual capacity. We see where we can get better, and on the field we give our best,” he added.

Opener Aiden Markram also reflected on the team’s collective effort. “It's a great feeling. A great effort by everyone to be fair. No easy task coming to India and winning. We needed a few moments of good luck, I suppose, along the way, very proud of the team.”

Markram said the team did not want to be burdened by preconceived notions about Indian conditions. “A lot of it was preconceived ideas about conditions. A lot of chat about spin, and quality seamers with the new ball. You don't want to have demons in your mind before facing your first ball.”

He credited the bowlers for maintaining control and pressure. “Credit to the bowlers, they get the balls in the right areas, and you try to catch them and make them happy. Spinning the ball different ways helps in conditions like this. You have to do that for long periods of time, and that's where the control comes in,” he said.

With inputs from PTI