India has been whitewashed by New Zealand at home for the first time. Tom Latham’s side has completely dominated the Men in Blue at their fortress. A humiliating whitewash at home, losing the Test series against New Zealand 3-0, a record low for Indian cricket. This defeat not only meant that India’s 18-match home series winning streak came to an end. This disheartening show has started critics questioning Gautam Gambhir’s coaching methods.
However, despite the coach being blamed the batters have failed to display their best on spinning tracks. It marks India’s first whitewash in a home Test series since losing to South Africa in 2000. India did not win any matches in the series, and it took another side more than two decades to do the same against them. India reflects on this surprising result, as supporters wonder how the squad would recover.
They address these apparent faults before future international matches. The emphasis will be on rebuilding trust and performance as they seek to reclaim their position as a dominant force in global cricket. The series concluded with a miserable performance from veteran players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have been under intense scrutiny following their lackluster performances. In the last six innings, the senior batters scored 96 and 91 runs, respectively.
Virat and Rohit should retire from test cricket
Will India look beyond Rohit and Kohli in the traditional format of the game? It is time now to look beyond these veteran batters or they should be going back to playing domestic cricket, especially more red-ball cricket and then get some runs on their back and find some form before returning to the test side. India will be travelling to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a 5-match test series.
It is an alarming sign for the Indian cricket who just have been a mere puppet at home in spinning tracks. The only positive sign for India was Rishabh Pant’s 64 runs, but his performance was overshadowed by the top order’s collective struggle to withstand pressure. Gambhir needs to address the boys to get back in shape and play with positive intent despite the horrifying defeat.
