Cricket, India: A history (2020)
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New Zealand tour
Tests
Christchurch: NZ wins match, series
Dwaipayan Datta, March 1, 2020: The Times of India
From: Dwaipayan Datta, March 1, 2020: The Times of India
Even though they are still top of the World Test Championship table, India’s 7-wicket loss in the second Test on Monday — and the series whitewash — has highlighted numerous worrying chinks in their armour. TOI analyses where things went awry for Kohli’s men in New Zealand...
India’s loss to New Zealand was their most humiliating since the 1-4 drubbing against England in 2018. The World No. 1 Test team failed miserably as a unit and were beaten in all departments by a gritty New Zealand team which made the most of home conditions. India, though, stay on top of the World Test championship race and the fact that there’s no five-day match for Kohli’s men before November — when they tour Australia for a four-Test series — means this loss may well be forgotten soon. Still, the comprehensive defeat shows that India are far from the formidable outfit that it tries to project itself to be, especially when it comes to Tests away from home. TOI takes a look at the reasons behind the debacle in New Zealand...
An out-of-sorts Kohli
Kohli endured one of his worst patches in recent memory with 38 runs from four innings. The Indian captain, who looked brilliant in England against the moving ball in 2018, went back to his past struggles trying to deal with the same movement on New Zealand’s pitches. The Indian captain isn’t known to commit the same mistake twice, but in the second Test he was dismissed by the same delivery, albeit from a different bowlers — a ball which came back just a bit off the seam and caught him plumb in front. With Kohli fumbling, the rest didn’t have the weapons to launch a counter-attack and it became a bit of a one-way traffic.
Rahane’s steady decline
Ajinkya Rahane has ceased to be the dependable player that he once was. There could be different reasons behind the dramatic decline, but in New Zealand his technique looked inadequate. He was completely at sea in the second innings of the second Test and Neil Wagner almost teased him to throw his wicket away. It’s been a while since he has got big runs away from home against meaningful opposition, and the team management’s patience may soon run thin. The likes of KL Rahul and Shubhman Gill are waiting in the wings and Rahane may have a fight on his hands in trying to hold on to his slot.
Lack of a solid opening partnership
Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw did get some runs individually, but they failed to click together. The difference that a solid opening partnership makes was shown by the Kiwi duo of Tom Latham and Tom Blundell as they chased 132 on a difficult pitch on Monday. They put on 103 together and the match was done, something that India could never do in the series. If they are to stay competitive in Australia later in the year, it’s an area that they need to sort out.
Absence of a genuine swing bowler
The Indian pacers were the bright spot for the team, but the team lacked somebody like a Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Deepak Chahar, who can really move the ball around in the air. Trent Boult and Tim Southee did just that, making life miserable for India. India’s pace arsenal of Bumrah, Ishant and Shami are more hit-thedeck bowlers and did their best. But it was the lack of variation that probably hurt India a bit, even though the bowlers can’t really be blamed for the defeat.
Musical chairs with the ’keeper’s slot
We have seen different wicketkeepers for different formats used by many countries, but different ’keepers for different venues is the brainchild of the current Indian team management! Needless to say, it isn’t exactly yielding results. Virat Kohli, despite accepting that Wriddhiman Saha is the better wicketkeeper, is playing Rishabh Pant abroad for his batting abilities, but the left-hander seems to be woefully short of ability against the moving ball. In addition to that, he isn’t exactly brilliant behind the stumps yet, yileding 20 byes in the first innings of a tight Test match in Christchurch.
