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New Zealand beat India by 26 runs in Mumbai on Sunday to become the first team in history to win all three Tests of a three-match series played in India.
New Zealand whitewash India in three-match Test series. (Picture Credit: AP)
New Zealand beat India by 26 runs in the third and final Test of the three-match series played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday (November 3). The Rohit Sharma-led side failed to chase down the target of 147 runs and got all out for just 121 runs. The win in the third Test helped New Zealand become the first team in history to whitewash India in a three-match Test series played on Indian soil.
Indian batters failed to fire throughout the series, and the poor performances by the senior players also played a big role in the team’s shocking result.
With the defeat in the last home match of 2024, India’s chances of qualifying for the WTC 2025 final are also on knife’s edge now.
Here’s a look at the top reasons for India’s humiliating defeat in the three-match Test series against New Zealand:
Alarming dip in quality of batters vs spinners
Indian batters produce a forgetful show in all three matches against the Kiwis, and the biggest cause of concern was their performance against the spinners. Indian batters, who were known to be brilliant players against spin bowling, struggled against the tweakers throughout the series, and it became one of the biggest reasons for the team’s first Test series defeat at home in 12 years.
Mitchell Santner, who is not even NZ’s first choice spinner in Tests, ran through India’s star-studded batting order in both innings of the 2nd Test and finished the match with figures of 13 for 291 in 48.3 overs.
Apart from him, Ajaz Patel and part-time spinner Glenn Phillips also made life difficult for Indian players by taking wickets at regular intervals.
Ageing superstars
It was a series to forget for Rohit, Kohli, and Ashwin. The Indian captain could only manage to score 91 runs in six innings, whereas Kohli amassed a total of 93 runs. Of those 93 runs, he scored 70 alone in the second inning of the first Test played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Ravichandran Ashwin came into the series after winning the Player of the Series award against Bangladesh, but in the three matches he was only able to take nine wickets.
Ravindra Jadeja’s performance with the bat was also not up to the mark in the series, but he redeemed himself to some extent by taking 10 wickets in the third Test.
Underestimating New Zealand
India came into the series against New Zealand after whitewashing Bangladesh in a two-match Test series and underestimated Kiwis who were without the services of Kane Williamson. Kiwis used the horses of courses approach, and it paid dividends for them. In the series opener, where the conditions were bit overcast, the three Kiwi pacers ran through India’s batting order and bowled them out for 46 runs, and in the next two matches, when there was assistance for spinners, Santner and Ajaz Patel with support from Glenn Phillips made life difficult for Indians.
Aggression over patience
India won the second Test against Bangladesh in Kanpur with its aggressive approach, but it backfired totally in the home assignment against Kiwis. The conditions in the first inning of the Bengaluru Test were challenging for the batters, but things would have gone in India’s favour had their batters opted for patience and a cautious approach rather than going for attack. In the second inning of the second and third Test as well, Indian openers, especially Rohit, opted to play aggressively rather than having some patience at the start of the innings and analysing the conditions.
