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In Bengaluru, India blamed the poor weather conditions and the choice at the toss as some of the reasons for its loss. In Pune, the batters also failed to capitalize on the opportunities, like getting Mitchell Santner out of the box. They said they should have been more playing sweeps and reverse sweeps sometimes to keep the bowler guessing. Then they knew they could not make and fumble as they had no excuse anymore being in Mumbai. No solutions. No answers.
The ridiculously inadequate Indian cricket team cricketers were instead left defending for justification for trying to figure out how New Zealand had done the seemingly improbable. They became the first team to whitewash India 3-0 in India in the past 130 years. For example, they did attempt their sweeps and reverse sweeps – both of which had a couple of disastrous effects – and were no worse off by the end of the second Test.
And no longer could the outcome be dismissed as “things that are permitted to occur once in 12 years”. The scoreline, however, smacked of how New Zealand outplayed India leaving them in this position – of shock. This was not an affair of a one-time failure. This was trouncing in the truest sense of the word for the Kiwis and a humiliating defeat as far as the Indian team was concerned.
Why the batting hurry?
2024, Kanpur has been mentioned time and again by various members of India’s team management during the series. To them, it was never in doubt that they could produce quick runs. Still, largely sticking to the aggressive approach, the team has often bogged down in the worst situation that had emerged here in all three Tests of this series. However, at the heart of that strategy was the captain himself; on the final day, the team captain was out in the middle making hay while the pitch was turning.
The only part of this shot that could be in any way considered questionable is the shot selection – an attempted pull – but the approach to the surface is standard. However, more worryingly, Rohit has not run well for the rest of the year too. This is the poorest average he will have post the whole year when opening in the format he adopted since 2019. Surprisingly, this has been his best year in T20 cricket in the same period with his average (36.13) & strike rate (154.66) both the highest for a calendar year.
“I haven’t defended a lot in this series because I haven’t been there much to defend,” Rohit said. In a way, I must put my own game back in them and try and see at what level best is possible. As for going in for the bat, the idea I always have is how to put the team in the best stance of the game, hence when the openers are in the ring, they set the pace.
Sometimes you are doing the opposite too, and in this series, I have landed on the other side of it once in a while. I don’t observe that I have faith in my defence less. It is only that I need to spend more time defending balls, which I have not done in this series,” said Rohit adding a somewhat surprising comment. Well, as you mature so does the ball and the game and you are trying and I am also trying to try and develop as a batter.
Thus, there is potential for categorizing oneself on the other side of the divide – a decision which is rather evident from my side of the argumentation. Therefore, the best course of action is to consider my current game and try to find out the best course of action for me.”
India’s batting transformation or the effort to transform it has been overstated since Kanpur. Whether it is the fact that they have relatively recently started doing so that has made them do so or whether as England does it now, they think this is the way Test cricket must be played now, we can only guess.
‘When sometimes the wickets as challenging as they have been the last couple of games and some time to play a shot and score a run is far more important than occupying the crease,’ reckons Tom Latham.
Coincidentally, the Man of the Series Will Young had a strike rate of only 53 over the series and his trust in defence and the ability to play spin on a tough surface even presents an argument against an overly one-eyed view of batting on tough surfaces. The approach as described by the two captains was also based on the conditions on the ground.
Did the pitches backfire?
“Playing on pitches and all of that, we don’t decide so much before,” said Rohit. Respondents said, “What we want varies depending on the series”. We played on really good pitches in England. And this time around, we felt that this was the right thing for us to do as a team. Quite often we have been on the right side of this. This thing is for the first time where we have come close to our expectations from this series,” he said when asked whether India would bring any change in the strategy of playing on turning pitches.
A carrot hard to avoid in this scenario was the World Test Championship points up for grabs in this series. They would have been relaxed if the results favoured them, and preparing to leave for Australia with a more positive confidence, apart from having an easier passing to the finals. Now, they cannot afford to drop a single match Down Under if they are going to make the final sans the help of the others.
Some of these pitches also translated to reduced work for their pacers with the spinners expected to do most of the work. That could have helped to put them in a better stead as they headed into Australia. India, in the end, had to find themselves in the final Test without the bowling spearhead Bumrah when important WTC points were on the line. Even though India might have been confident about this route taken for this particular series, it paid off adversely against them.
With the cheap rates, it has introduced a set of non-regular spinners such as Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips in par with the other regulars like R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The extra burden resulting from the absence of runs was that the trio sank into the annals of cricketing history as the most unexpected group to not only ascend a mountain but behead the actual demon.
Also, it had little benefit to their pace-bowling questions. Is Akash Deep ahead of Mohammad Siraj now on the pecking order, behind Bumrah? Have we seen the best of Siraj, what he was at least three years back? With so many questions unanswered in Mumbai, Siraj had very little to do and heading into Australia that would be another question to add to the many more that India would have to face.
What next for the senior core?
It was only slightly over four months ago to be precise when Rohit and Kohli both looked so delighted after triumphing in that ICC event. As much as in the past, they want to be a part of something that makes them NOT unwanted history! And more so because neither could manage to impose themselves on the game. Kohli has been far from his confident best as he was during his run-scoring abilities up until now. Switching and stances and the endless workout in the ‘nets’ haven’t led him closer to the desired results.
They’re one day up, one day down-which can be attributed to the cyclic nature of the business. That is something that I’ve learnt at a very young age about life,” Rohit added. ‘Well, yet that is to some extent something that I also use to stay disciplined with not indulging in some things in life. He said it is important for him to comprehend that you know, life is not only high but should also have lows.
That means there can be lows, too, which I’ve noticed over the years, throughout my experience. Therefore though, for sure you know, something like this you know, will be a hope for being counted amongst the lowest times in my career you know, to have lost three games at home.
“And, yep, we, I fully take the responsibility of that you know, as a captain and as a leader as well.” That has not been the case since I have not been at my best from the start of the series. And yeah sure with the bat also I have not been good enough,” said Rohit.
‘But right now for the moment, it’s just seeking to know what was done wrong and where and how the error can be avoided and what measures ought to be taken by a team. We made a lot of mistakes. Hence, the mistakes require correction, and it is an aspect that will be discussed, he said.
Those are the conversations, you would think, that would be as challenging as the series had been for his team.