India lost a Test series on home soil after 12 years on Saturday when the Rohit Sharma-led side lost the second Test match on the third day at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. (Match Highlights | More Cricket News)
With this win, New Zealand have taken an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series. The third match is in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium and the Kiwis won't mind the conditions of that ground either.
From 46 all out in the first innings of the Bengaluru Test to 156 all out in the first inning of the second Test in Pune, the Indian team missed a chance to take an early advantage in both matches and allowed the visitors to take a huge lead in the first inning. That put pressure on the Indian bowlers and when they also conceded runs then the onus shifted to the batters to put up big scores.
And Indian pitches are not easy to bat in the fourth innings. New Zealand bowlers, especially Mitchell Santner exploited the conditions in Pune and claimed 13 wickets in the match.
Let's dive into the reasons for India's defeat in Pune and what went wrong for the Men In Blue
Three Changes In Playing XI
Interestingly, Santner was benched in the opening Test match and Matt Henry played in Bengaluru, who also disturbed Indian batters making very good use of the overcast conditions and swinging the ball with his partner in crime William O'Rourke.
India also made some changes in the second Test - three to be exact. Shubman Gill replaced KL Rahul, Akash Deep came in place of Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar returned to the Test side after three years of hiatus replacing Kuldeep Yadav.
Only Sundar succeeded in making an impact with his all-round performance. He took seven wickets in the first inning and four in the second. He also contributed with the ball making 18 not out and 21 in both innings. Akash Deep bowled only six overs in the match and remained wicketless.
Marking his return to the Test side after missing the first match due to neck stiffness, Gill made 53 runs combined from both innings of the second Test. India could have played one more batter potentially Axar Patel or KL Rahul in place of Akash Deep.
Poor Performance By Top-order
Showing intent and fast run-making is not always enough in Test cricket - a lesson that was much needed for the Indian team to learn. But Indian captain Rohit Sharma might not see it as any problem as he recently said, "It happened after 12 years, that's fine". And that's the problem.
If the Indian captain can't find the problem in his team and thinks that it was 'allowed', then he is wrong. He failed to make a two-digit score in three out of four innings in this series and he thinks losing a Test series is allowed.
Sharma's poor fielding is another issue. He dropped several catches in the slips during India's fielding. On a spin-friendly pitch, good fielding behind the wicket is crucial, and Sharma stood in the slips for most of the time. He only managed to take one catch in the slips, which was Tim Southee's in the second innings.
Virat Kohli has been struggling to judge the ball lately. In this Test match, he scored just 1 & 17 runs and failed to open his account in his first innings in the first Test. Although he managed to find some rhythm with a 70-run knock in the second innings in Bengaluru, his overall performance has been concerning.
'Jas-Ball'
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant need to take some responsibility while batting and should play according to the requirements of the team. They have defied the logic of Test cricket. They need to learn the art of defence as well because only attack is not enough to win a Test match. Results in the long run can't be achieved with such a mindset.
India needed a self-check and it is team management and captain's duty now to ensure that they play freely but responsibly. Say it 'Bazball', 'Ro-Ball' or 'Jas-ball', the beauty of Test cricket is in defence.
We saw how attacking cricket gave results to England in the first Test against Pakistan in Multan but that backfired in the next two matches and Pakistan won the three-match home series 2-1.
Spin Tracks Backfired
Indian batters are well-versed in batting techniques and pressure handling but New Zealand batters looked more confident and hungry for runs in these two Test matches. Indian batter's lack of discipline while batting and Kiwi bowlers' spin quality were the reasons why New Zealand won the matches and series.
India making spin-friendly tracks and still losing the series is bizarre. New Zealand played out India in all three departments - bowling, batting and fielding. They came better prepared for the series which showed in their style of performance be it Rachin Ravindra's batting or Mitchell Santner's bowling.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham said in many press conferences before the series started that they are prepared and want to play a new style of cricket which will define them. And they did the same. Every 11 players contributed and the results are in front of everyone.
