No team have dominated India at home in the last decade in the manner that New Zealand have in these two Test matches. In that sense, credit to Tom Latham and his boys. But when we cast an eye on the Indian batting, there is far more than pitches and conditions behind the dismal failures in back-to-back matches. It is as if India are fighting some inner demons, and trying to be aggressive every third ball. No one is willing to grind it out, and look ugly. No one is keen on batting like you would in conventional Test cricket. The result? Horrendous shots, which handed the game to New Zealand on a platter.
While it started with Rohit Sharma playing inside the line to Tim Southee on the first evening – not for the first time in his career – it continued with Virat Kohli on the second morning. Kohli had just come in to bat after Shubman Gill’s dismissal, and India needed him to stay there and play himself in. Instead, he played over a full toss and saw the ball crash into his stumps. It was as bad a shot as you could possibly see, and it put the pressure squarely on India.
Kohli, with an average of 34 against spin at home in the last four years, is clearly not the batsman he was between 2014-2019. However, you still expect better from him, and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – where he first showed off his red-ball quality – could well be a huge test for him over the next few months.
Rishabh Pant, India’s best batter in Tests, played an equally poor shot. He missed a half-tracker and was off-balance to execute the shot he attempted. Yet again, the middle stump was rattled and so were India. Pant was India’s best bet in these conditions, and his wicket was a massive moment in the game.
Sarfaraz Khan, preferred over KL Rahul after his Bengaluru heroics, got out to the third bad shot of the innings. He had started to look confident but his over-aggressive intent made him play the lofted shot despite the presence of a deep mid-off fielder. It was a nothing shot, and an act of irresponsibility under the circumstances.
When three of your premier batters fall to poor shots, the result is always going to be dire. New Zealand were handed complete control of the match and India looked well off the pace all day. For the first time in 12 years, they are staring at a series loss at home, and it will be an upset of humungous proportions.
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With Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane – both of whom have played huge roles in past victories in Australia – consigned to the history books, there are no obvious replacements either. The only uncapped specialist batter in the 18-man squad for Australia is Abhimanyu Easwaran, and there is little in his resume in big matches to inspire great confidence that he would be an upgrade on those in the current squad.
To their credit, New Zealand haven’t let slip any of the opportunities gifted to them, in Bengaluru or Pune. With a Test left and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to follow, Rohit and Gautam Gambhir will start to feel the heat. After the toss fiasco and the 46 all out in Bengaluru to the meek surrender on day two in Pune, the mantle of invincibility is fast slipping. The WTC final is also on the line. More than the pitch or anything else, India’s batters are to blame for the predicament they find themselves in.
Is there a way for India from here? While you never say never in sport, the truth is that India will need a real miracle, like Kolkata 2001, to stage a fightback. It won’t be a surprise if the game gets over today, with New Zealand celebrating one of their greatest-ever series wins.
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