In the last 12 and a half years, the Indian Cricket Team had never lost a Test Series at home. The last series loss came against England in the 2012-2013 Home Season. 4,339 days later, India lost against New Zealand with a 3-0 margin. A Whitewash. For the first time in the History of Indian cricket, India has been whitewashed in a Home Test Series having 3 or more matches.
The last time India faced a whitewash loss in Test Cricket at home was way back in 2000 when they lost a two-match series against South Africa with the first test being at Wankhede and the second being at Chinnaswamy; losing both by huge margins. 9,009 days have passed since 5 March 2000, the day India lost the second test in Bangalore.
So what’s the reason behind India’s utter dominance on Home Soil for the last 12-13 years? And how did India lose against New Zealand this time around? The Answer lies in perhaps the most important factor in a Test Match. The Pitch.
Turning Tracks No Longer India’s Hidden Weapon
Every time India is in a tough spot in a Home Test Series, suddenly one will find that the pitches in the forthcoming matches start to turn from day 1. It has happened many many times in the past 12-13 years and could be attributed to being one major factor in India remaining undefeated in Test series.
Banking on the dominance of the Spin Duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, with the likes of Axar Patel, Washington Sundar or Kuldeep Yadav offering backup, India has managed to defeat the toughest opposition in Home conditions. But on the other side of the coin, going hand in hand with their spinners was an intimidating batting order who were once masters of playing spin.
And that’s why the visiting teams couldn’t do what India did to them on Turning tracks. But things have changed. The Great Wall of India and Mr Dependable, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane respectively, are no longer a part of the Indian Test Setup. Hence considerably lowered the quality of Indian batsmen against spin. King Kohli too has hit the lowest point of his career playing against spin and he who once used to dominate spinners in the red ball format, often falters against it nowadays. Rohit Sharma too, with his lack of foot movement being exposed against quality spin finds himself getting out cheaply a bit too often.
How New Zealand Played Like India Against India To Whitewash India
New Zealand did exactly what India had been doing for the past decade and a half. They dominated with the help of two quality spinners, Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner who were being backed up by Glenn Philips and Rachin Ravindra, both of who can bowl finger spin quite well. This was their recipe for cooking the Indian Cricket Team, the Indian Way.
