3 areas of concern for India following their defeat in the 1st Test vs New Zealand ft. KL Rahul's form
New Zealand secured their first Test win on Indian soil in almost four decades in the series opener at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Black Caps won the encounter by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match rubber.
India are close to qualifying for the final of the World Test Championship, but they still need three wins to guarantee it. With an important tour of Australia on the horizon soon after the Kiwi assignment ends, Rohit Sharma and company will need to carefully plug the cracks in their side.
On that note, here are three areas of concern for India following their defeat in the first Test against New Zealand.
#3 KL Rahul failed to impress in both innings
Ahead of the last two home Test series against Bangladesh in New Zealand, there have been some questions over whether KL Rahul deserves to be picked in the XI ahead of Sarfaraz Khan. The Indian team management clearly thinks so, presumably with an eye on the upcoming tour of Australia, considering Rahul has more experience and arguably a better technique than his younger teammate.
However, India are now in a pickle because of Rahul's middling returns. While he did look fluent in one innings in Kanpur, he has barely been able to make a substantial contribution otherwise. The middle-order batter seems to be finding ways to get out against both pace and spin and inspires virtually no confidence out in the middle.
The same trend continued in Bengaluru. Despite being in front of a crowd that supported him heavily, Rahul failed to impress in both innings, leaving India with an unwelcome dilemma.
#2 Jasprit Bumrah's pace partner doesn't offer much to the team
India decided to go in with just two specialist fast bowlers in the first Test against New Zealand, after playing three in both encounters against Bangladesh. Mohammed Siraj pipped Akash Deep to a spot in the XI but failed to impress as Jasprit Bumrah's new-ball partner.
India need to assemble an army of pacers ahead of their tour Down Under, and Siraj hasn't done himself a great deal of favors lately. The fast bowler has been off the mark with his lines and lengths, and even when he has got it right, as he did in Bengaluru, he hasn't been able to pick up wickets.
India might be forced to play Deep in his place for the second Test and also try to get some overs out of their fast-bowling reserves before flying to Australia. Time is running out for them to identify the solutions to their pace problems.
#1 The lower order, especially Ravichandran Ashwin, looked off
India's lower order has been one of the biggest reasons behind their home dominance in the last decade. With both bat and ball, the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel have contributed heavily.
However, against New Zealand, Ashwin and Jadeja couldn't make a substantial impact in both departments. While the left-arm spinner did bowl well in the first innings, picking up three wickets and bringing India back into the game, he wasn't as penetrative as he'd have liked throughout his spell.
More importantly, both Ashwin and Jadeja couldn't add runs that have proven valuable in the team securing home wins in the past.
Washington Sundar has been added to the hosts' squad for the second Test, but it's hard to see India make any changes in that department. India will be concerned about Ashwin and Jadeja's form heading into the remainder of the series.