On Saturday, October 26, India put an end to their 12-year-long streak by losing the second Test, and thus, the series against New Zealand. This is the first time in 12 years that the South Asian giants have lost a Test series at home. In the first game of the series played in Bengaluru, Rohit Sharma and Co. faced an embarrassing eight-wicket defeat to Tom Latham-led side. However, the side was expected to overturn the defeat in the second game, the home side slumped to their counterparts by 113 runs.
Three reasons India lost 2nd Test against New Zealand
This is New Zealand’s first-ever Test win against India on Indian soil. While India avoid a whitewash as the sides gear up for the third and final Test, let us go through three major reasons the hosts lost the second match.
Poor performance by batters
There is no denying that India came up with a disastrous performance with the bat in the entire series. After recording one of their lowest Test totals ever, the batters, especially the big names including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were expected to improve their performance in the 2nd game. However, how they delivered was completely unexpected and disappointing. Rohit Sharma could only score eight runs in both innings and Virat Kohli added 18 runs.
Not only this, but no other batter apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal came up with decent scores, and it goes without saying that the batting collapse was a significant reason behind India’s defeat.
No SPLASH from Jaddu-Ash
The pitch at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune was spinner friendly, yet no other spinner other than Washington Sundar could contribute much. Ravichandran Ashwin could scalp only five wickets, while Ravindra Jadeja recorded three wickets. Fast bowlers including Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep remained wicketless due to the nature of the pitch. Jadeja and Ashwin should have contributed more, which could have altered the nature of the game.
Defensive captaincy by Rohit Sharma
A few decisions by Rohit Sharma came under scrutiny during the second Test, one of which was spreading the field with long-on and long-off in place for the spinners. A few decisions, along with others, sparked discussions among cricket fans and pundits, including former India cricketers Sunil Gavaskar. He said, “If you had fielders like that long-on and long-off for the spinners before a lofted shot had been played, the captain would’ve been called a defensive captain. He’s a defensive captain, he’s a negative captain. Here now you try and block the boundaries.”