New Zealand handed India their first rout in a three-Test series at home on Sunday after completing a thrilling 25-run victory in the spinner-dominated final match at the Wankhede Stadium.
Set a fourth-innings target of 147, India suffered another top-order batting collapse before being dismissed for 121 to endure one of the lowest points in their 92-year history of playing Tests at home.
Rishabh Pant’s defiant 57-ball 64 kept alive Indian hopes of a consolation win after batting collapses had led to defeats in the first two Tests in Bengaluru and Pune. But the Indian wicketkeeper’s dismissal with 41 runs still to get saw the innings fold in 29.1 overs on the third afternoon of the match.
Ajaz Patel, New Zealand’s Mumbai-born left-arm spinner, was the bowling hero as he captured 6/57 to finish with a brilliant match haul of 11/160 at a venue where he had become only the third bowler in Test history to take all 10 wickets in an innings on the previous tour in 2021.
The last time India lost all Tests in a home series was the 2-0 defeat by a formidable South Africa in 2000. They have also lost three Tests in a home series before – thrice to West Indies (1958-59, 1974-75 and 1983-84) and once each to Australia (1969-70) and England (1976-77) – but those were in longer series, and not whitewashes, and happened much before India’s rise as a formidable force in Test cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar led the praise for the Kiwis. “For any visiting team, to win a Test series in India is a dream, and New Zealand have played really well to make it happen. Such results can only be achieved with good, all-round team efforts. Special mention to Santner for his standout performance, picking up 13 wickets. Congratulations to New Zealand on this phenomenal achievement,” he posted on X.
The defeat could also deliver a crushing blow to India’s hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship final for the third time in a row. Currently second on the table, only an unlikely 4-0 win for India in the five-Test series in Australia starting on November 22 will ensure a spot in the final. Even one loss will make qualification dependent on other results with Australia, the current table toppers, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka all in the race.
However, the immediate concern of Rohit Sharma’s battered team would be to regroup for the Australia Tests with the hosts keen to avenge defeats in the last two trips.
Tom Latham’s New Zealand beat India over varied playing conditions, going from the pace-friendly pitch in Bengaluru to the turning tracks in Pune and Mumbai, which also afforded extra bounce due to its red soil surface.
New Zealand had won only two Tests in India over 70 years coming into this series. The last time India lost three Tests in a series (0-3) was in a six-game contest against a great West Indies side in 1983/84.
Rohit Sharma faces scrutiny over many of his calls, from tactics, choice of pitches, decision to bat first on a seaming pitch in Bengaluru, playing combinations and his own batting approach and a poor run of scores.
“Something like this will be a very low point in my career, having lost three games at home. I fully take responsibility for that as a captain and as a leader as well,” Rohit told reporters at the post-match media conference.
Rohit acknowledged that qualifying for the WTC final could be difficult. “I don’t think we can look that far ahead (WTC final),” he said. “It’s important to focus on the next series, which is Australia. A lot of our guys have been there before, and a lot of the guys haven’t been there. We are trying to go there a little early just to get used to the conditions. Australia is not an easy place to play cricket, but we can take a lot of confidence in how we played in the last two series (there) and think positively. I am not going to look beyond the Australia series.”
Rohit is likely to miss the first Test in Perth, starting on November 22 for personal reasons, leaving head coach Gautam Gambhir with a lot to do. Gambhir, who took over from Rahul Dravid in July, will be under focus for his tactics after this debacle while he will also have to plan for transition in the team with Rohit and Virat Kohli in the final stages of their careers.
