NEW DELHI: The New Zealand cricket team last Sunday handed India an unprecedented whitewash at home, clinching the three-Test series 3-0.
The Kiwis created history after victory in the Mumbai Test inside three days, becoming the first ever team to hammer India 3-0 in their own backyard.
The performance from India in all the three departments — especially in batting — across three Tests was below-par as the Kiwis outplayed Rohit Sharma and co.
Exposing India’s spin vulnerabilities, the New Zealand spinners ran riot on Indian pitches, completely stunning the hosts.
Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday opened up for the heartbreaking series loss, labelling it a shattering experience of his career.
“We have been hit by a 3-0 loss to New Zealand. I read that it has never happened in India in history. I don’t know how to react or react to it. I know that in my career and in my experience in cricket, we don’t have so many emotions when we play. But it’s a very shattering experience. That’s the right word for it. I didn’t know how to react or respond to it for the last 2-3 days,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Amid a horror show from the batters throughout the series, Ashwin also blamed himself for not being able to contribute with the bat lower down the order. The 38-year-old however credited the BlackCaps bowlers for putting up a superb show.
“I expect a lot from myself. I am a guy who says I am the reason for everything that went wrong. I am also a big reason and a big part of it (series loss). I couldn’t contribute to the lower order runs. As a bowler, I know that runs are a vital currency for a bowler. I started well in many places, then I threw it away on a couple of occasions. I put my best but it wasn’t enough,” Ashwin added.
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The unexpected series loss has put India’s World Test Championship Final chances at big risk as they now have to win 4 out of five Tests in Australia to qualify for the summit clash without relying on the results of other teams.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy begins from November 22 in Perth.
