 | « Back to article | Print this article |
It was a nightmare India will want to forget soon.
In a stunning turn of events, New Zealand pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Test cricket as they whitewashed India 3-0 at home.
This was the first time that India had suffered the humiliation of a series sweep in a series involving three or more Tests as their run of 18 consecutive series wins at home finally came to an end.
New Zealand, who came into the series as underdogs after their poor showing in Sri Lanka, outplayed India with both bat and ball to register commanding victories in all three Tests.
For India, the biggest disappointment was the poor showing of their senior most players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin, while the youngsters showed promised but struggled for consistency when the going got tough.
Washington Sundar and Rishabh Pant were the only ones who could held their head high in an otherwise dismal campaign by Team India.
How the Indian players fared in the New Zealand Test series:
Rohit Sharma (1/10)
Rohit Sharma rightly took responsibility for India's series whitewash.
Not only did he fail with the bat but his captaincy was a complete disaster.
From his toss debacle in the series opener in Bengaluru to getting out to a reckless shot in a low-scoring chase in Mumbai, nothing seemed to go right for Rohit in the series.
His team changes were also questionable as the decision to play two seamers on spin-friendly wickets in Pune and Mumbai didn't work well.
The skipper managed just 91 runs in six innings, falling to pace bowlers four times in his attempt to attack the new ball.
Except for his 52 in Bengaluru, he never went past the 20 run mark in the other five innings in his worst performance in a series at home.
In his last 10 innings -- all played at home, Rohit has gone past the fifty mark just once, while six times he has fallen in single digit scores.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (4/10)
Jaiswal found the going tough against New Zealand's resilient and quality bowling attack.
The youngster, who enjoyed a flying start to Test cricket, struggled to impose his domination against the Kiwis. He got off to starts in all his six innings in the series, but failed to carry on to play big knocks.
He stroked 77 in the second innings of the Pune Test but other than that he fell for 30 three times.
Jaiswal's shot selection came in for a lot of flak after he threw his wicket away attempting a rash reverse sweep against Ajaz Patel late on Day 1.
His dismissal proved to be decisive as it resulted in a stunning late collapse with India losing three wickets for six runs, costing them the momentum.
He finished with 190 runs in the series at an average of 31, against his Test career average of 56.28.
The Australia series will be the first big Test of his young career.
Shubman Gill (4/10)
Gill, tipped as the next big thing in Indian cricket, is yet to convince.
He missed the Bengaluru Test because of a stiff neck, but in the next two games he fell to left-arm spinners, with Mitchell Santner dismissing him twice in Pune and Ajaz doing the same in Mumbai.
Despite his valiant knock of 90 in the first innings in Mumbai when he showed fine technique against spin, his dismissal in the second innings was a big shock. He erred in his judgement not offering a shot to a straight back from left-armer Ajaz, to be bowled for 1.
Gill has struggled for consistency in red ball cricket as his Test average of 36.73 in 29 matches prove. Against New Zealand, he scored 144 runs in two games, at an average of 36.
It is high time he converts his talent into runs in Test cricket.
Virat Kohli (1/10)
Kohli was a huge disappointment with the bat.
His alarming slump in Test cricket shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. What has been particularly shocking has that he has struggled against spin in familiar conditions at home.
Four out of his six dismissals were against spinners in the New Zealand series, while he managed just 93 runs at an average of 15, out of which 70 came in a single innings in the series opener in Bengaluru.
His run out in the first innings of the Mumbai Test summed up his struggles perfectly, as he looked completely out of sorts during the series.
Since the tour of South Africa in December 2023, Kohli has managed just 364 runs in seven Tests at an average of 28, with two fifties.
Over the past five years since January 2020, he has scored just two centuries in 34 Tests, while scoring 1,838 runs at an average of 31.
Australia, where he has always done well, could be his final chance to revive his Test career.
Sarfaraz Khan (4/10)
Sarfaraz promised a lot with his entertaining knock of 150 to lead India's strong comeback in the second innngs of the Bengaluru Test.
But he struggled in the next two Tests played on some tough pitches to the batters.
Sarfaraz's aggressive approach proved to be his undoing as he managed just 21 runs in his next four innings, including just one run in two innings at his home ground in Mumbai.
He finished the series with 171 runs at an average of 28. His poor showing in the Pune and Mumbai Tests has opened up a lot of doubts about his technique and mindset against quality bowling attacks.
Rishabh Pant (8/10)
Pant was among the two bright spots for India in their worst ever showing in a home series.
The left-hander's approach against spin stood out. He was solid with his defending and his shot selection was impeccable as he scored runs freely against the spinners.
His quickfire 64 from 57 balls nearly took India home in the second innings of the Mumbai Test. That incredible knock should serve as a lesson for the other Indian batters on how to cope with spinners on turning tracks with a good mix of attack and defence.
His wicket-keeping though was not as convincing against spinners, but he was outstanding with the bat despite struggling with a knee problem, which restricted his running between the wickets.
Pant was the only batter to go past the fifty mark thrice in the series, which included a 99 in Bengaluru.
He finished as the top run-getter in the series with 261 runs at a strike rate of 89.
K L Rahul (1/10)
Rahul played the first Test in Bengaluru after Gill was ruled out due to injury.
However, he could make most of the opportunity as he managed just 12 runs in the Test, caught behind off pacer William O'Rourke in both innings.
He could come back into the team in Australia in place of Sarfaraz as he looks technically better equipped to deal with the pacers Down Under.
Rahul has enjoyed consistent backing in the last few years despite not getting the returns. Since making his debut in 2014, Rahul has played 53 Tests in which he has scored 2,981 runs at a below-par average of 33.
Ravindra Jadeja (7/10)
Jadeja struggled in the first two Tests with the ball, but bounced strongly in the Mumbai Test with 10 wickets in the match.
He claimed a five wicket haul in both innings of a Test match for the first time in his career, but despite his heroics India could not avoid defeat due to the poor showing by the batters.
Jadeja played two solid knocks with the bat in the second Test in Pune, scoring 80 runs lower down the order but his lack of wickets in the first two games, especially in Pune, was a big blow to India's hopes.
He finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series with 16 wickets at an average of 14, while scoring only 105 runs in six innings.
Ravichandran Ashwin (1/10)
Ashwin registered his worst bowling performance in a home Test series.
This is the first time that Ashwin finished with less than 10 wickets in a home series consisting of three Tests or more.
He bagged just one wicket in 18 overs in the Bengaluru Test, going at nearly six per over, forcing the selectors to draft in Washington Sundar for the next game.
On a turning pitch in Pune, the senior spinner again struggled to make an impact as he claimed five wickets in 49 overs sent down. He regained his form late, in the second innings of the Mumbai Test, when he took 3/63 to bowl out the Kiwis for 174.
Ashwin, who hit a century against Bangladesh, wasn't able to make a contribution as well as he scored 51 runs in six innings.
The New Zealand batters' strategy to attack Ashwin from the start of the series worked wonders as he struggled not only to pick wickets but also the flow of runs.
Washington Sundar (8/10)
Washington was the player of the series for India.
If not for Sundar, the margin of defeats would have been even glaring with the visitors dominating with both bat and ball.
Sundar, called up for his first Test in more than three years, made an immediate impact on the spin-friendly pitch in Pune as he picked up 11 wickets in the match, including a career-best haul of 7/59.
In the Mumbai Test too, he was among the wickets as he bagged five wickets in the game to outshine his senior Tamil Nadu spin colleague Ashwin.
Sundar was also quite handy with the bat, with 89 runs from four innings.
Jasprit Bumrah (2/10)
Bumrah was a shadow of himself during the series.
One of the leading fast bowler across formats, India might have expected more from Bumrah, but he struggled to make a mark in spin-friendly conditions.
He has always struggled against New Zealand, with 10 wickets from five Tests at an average of 45.
Bumrah managed just three wickets from 41 overs sent down in the first two games before he was rested for the final match in Mumbai considering the workload factor.
He was comfortably outshone by New Zealand quicks Matt Henry and William O'Rourke, who was playing for the first time in India.
Akash Deep (2/10)
Akash Deep didn't have much to do in the series.
He bowled just 16 overs in the two Tests he played, picking up two wickets as the spinners bowled a majority of the overs.
Akash Deep got just six overs in the first innings of the Pune Test and didn't bowl in the second, while in Mumbai he bowled five overs in each innings.
Mohammed Siraj (1/10)
Siraj was another big disappointment.
He finished with two wickets in a total of 31 overs bowled in the two Tests at an average of 58.
After taking two wickets in the first Test while struggling to contain the flow of runs, he was dropped for the Pune Test. He was called back for the Mumbai Test, where he bowled just six overs in the first Test and was not used in the second.
Photographs: BCCI