Will history repeat after 49 years? There is a thin to no chance for Rishabh Pant's India to do what Clive Llyod's team did in reply to the opponent's "grovel" remark. After Day 4's play, the South African head coach Shukri Conrad gallantly remarked at the press conference, saying the South Africa team wanted India to "grovel." Literally, "grovel" means "to kneel, lie, or crawl on the ground." The term is often used for someone aving a lower grade, like peasants, and is used in a racist way. And South Africa made sure they did exactly what they said. Keeping all the controversies aside, South Africa declared after having a huge lead of 589, for a team who genuinely struggles to surpass 200! After the day 4' play, Conrad said the media, "We wanted them (India) to really grovel, to steal a phrase, bat them completely put the game and then say to them, well come and survive on the last day and an hour this evening." Why is "grovel" racist? Even though there is no such definition that can tag the word as grovel, if we cut back to 1976, this term was used by Tony Greig- a white South African leading England—while addressing the Clive Lloyd-led West Indies. Well, it had a slight appreciation for the bunch of players touring but he felt that his men can make the West Indies player beg. Notably, in 1976, when West Indies toured England, they already had a bad outing against Australia. India was a victim of the recently accumulated West Indian fast bowlers, who toured England for three Tests. While giving a pre-series interview to BBC's Sportsnight, Greig said, "I'm not really sure they're as good as everyone thinks," he said. "These guys, if they get on top they are magnificent cricketers. But if they're down, they grovel, and I intend, with the help of Closey [Brian Close] and a few others, to make them grovel." If necessarily a racist remark or not, it boiled Llyod's blood, which he later said, to be "one guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of any black ma." He said, "The fact they were used by a white South African made it even worse. We were angry and West Indians everywhere were angry. We resolved to show him and everyone else that the days for grovelling were over." It did not go well with any of the Caribbeans as Viv Richards later called out the remark. The "grovel" remark did not go well with the ENglish camp as well. "Grovel" backfired for England After stalemates at Trent Bridge and Lord’s, the West Indies seized the series as England crumbled under the brutal heat of the scorching 1976 summer. Their ferocious pace attack ripped through England at Old Trafford and Headingley, while Tony Greig faced rising – mostly playful – heckling from the vibrant Caribbean crowds. For the final Test, The Oval felt more like Kingston than Kennington. South London’s Caribbean community turned the ground into a festival of horns, bugles, cans and calypso as the West Indies dismantled England for two days straight. When Greig walked out on Saturday evening, England had staged a brief revival. He punched two blazing cover-drives off Michael Holding, only to be bowled moments later. As he trudged off, hundreds of young West Indian fans charged onto the field, jeering and crowding him, forcing play to halt in what Wisden later called a shameful moment. On Monday, with a massive 252-run lead, the West Indies ignored the follow-on. Instead, Roy Fredericks and Gordon Greenidge unleashed an unbeaten 182-run opening stand in just 32 overs. As the heat peaked and the noise swelled, Greig walked toward the Harleyford Road stands and sank to his knees, mock-grovelling before the roaring crowd. Greig apologised West Indies thrashed England by 3-0, making him realize that West Indies should not have been targeted like this. In the middle of the series, showman Grieg apologized and said, "I realise that I made a mistake in using that word at the start of the series and they haven't let me forget it." After three decades, in an interview, Greig later admitted that his white South african blood made him say that. The West Indies bowler even though never confronted him, but made sure to make his life hell on the crease. Tit for tat for Indians? Earlier in Kolkata, when the match did not even last for three days, Jasprit Bumrah indirectly targeted the South African captain as "bauna," which means dwarf, while discussing a DRS. Even the coach never made a remark, and neither did Temba; the team made sure that they demolished India, totally and completely. Clive Llyod has his blood boiling. Rishab Pant, the chirpy wicketkeeper, often challenging the commentators with his own words behind the staff, has showcased his utter cluelessness since he got his captain's blazer. Well, it's wrong to point at Rishabh entirely. Sinche gambhir came, India suffered a record whitewash against New Zealand and entered the same dark cave in this series too. Once upon a time, when winning Tests in India looks like an easy bread, words didn't boil as much as India's performance did.