For a visiting team, it always seemed like a given that it would be impossible for them to come to India and walk away with a Test serious victory. Such has been the home dominance for India that the hosts never lost a Test series since 2012. However, come October 2024, the proud record is no longer standing, and of all the teams, it is the old nemesis New Zealand that have come to India to snatch away the envious home record. Last week, the Kiwis defeated India by 113 runs in the second Test in Pune to gain an unassailable lead in the three-match series.
India’s batting order collapsed like a pack of cards, and the entire batting lineup, barring Yashasvi Jaiswal, looked like a cat on a hot tin roof, while playing against the left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner.
As soon as India lost the series, skipper Rohit Sharma looked visibly dejected, and his facial expressions, gave away the entire story. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was on commentary at that time, said Rohit is not going to take this loss “lightly”.
“Rohit Sharma is a proud man. He will not take it lightly. Let me assure you of that. His body language might suggest that he’s very relaxed. But deep down, he’ll be hurting and hurting big. Not just with him but with every Indian player in that dressing room,” said Ravi Shastri.
Rohit’s captaincy comes under fire
Rohit Sharma, who scored just 8 runs in the second Test, was constantly criticised for his defensive captaincy against New Zealand. On commentary, the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Ravi Shastri and Ian Smith, called out Rohit for allowing the Kiwi batters to take easy singles and rotate the strike.
After the game came to an end, Dinesh Karthik also said that Rohit did not have a great match as a captain.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Dinesh Karthik said, “Not at his best. I thought he had a very tough Test match, he did all he could. I could see there was a lot of pressure on him, add to the fact, that he did not get many runs as well. So overall, it was not a great Test match. He will reflect and think, ‘what could I have done better? Was I a reactive captain or a pro-active captain?'”
“There is a fine line, this Test match was one where he was chasing the ball a little bit. He tried his best with whatever he could, but you have to say it wasn’t the best game for either him or Team India,” he added.
In his last four Tests, Rohit Sharma has scored just 104 runs, with 52 runs coming in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
With the series loss against the Kiwis, India’s road for the World Test Championship (WTC) has become tricky, and the side now needs to win four out of their remaining six games to make it to the final, without depending on others.
