IND vs NZ 2024, 2nd Test: India Player Ratings as Rohit Sharma & Co. suffer first home Test series loss in 12 years
Team India's series against New Zealand went from bad to worse at the MCA Stadium in Pune as they lost the second Test by 113 runs on Saturday, October 26. With the defeat, the hosts lost a Test rubber at home for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
India were asked to chase a daunting 359 in the fourth innings, and despite a spirited effort from Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order, they were never really in the hunt. Rohit Sharma and Co. eventually fell well short in the encounter to concede a 2-0 series lead.
On that note, here are India's player ratings from the second Test against New Zealand.
IND vs NZ 2024, 2nd Test: Senior men fail to step up in Pune
Rohit Sharma: 1/10
Rohit finished the Test with just eight runs to his name. While his dismissal in the first innings was thanks to a terrific delivery from Tim Southee, he was sent back in soft fashion in the second essay. The Indian skipper's leadership and tactics left a lot to be desired, particularly on the opening day.
Yashasvi Jaiswal: 7.5/10
Jaiswal was caught at slip in both innings, but given the conditions, he did fairly well. The southpaw's counterattack on Day 3 gave the hosts a brief glimmer of hope.
Shubman Gill: 6/10
Gill got off to starts in both innings, but he was never really settled at the crease. The youngster's shortcomings against left-arm spinners were exposed on multiple occasions, and it's once again worth asking whether No. 3 is his ideal spot in the batting order.
Virat Kohli: 1/10
Kohli had a miserable outing in Pune, as he missed a full toss in the first innings before hanging back to a fullish delivery in the second. The superstar batter's Test returns have been woeful lately.
Rishabh Pant: 2/10
In a rare instance, Pant finished a home Test without a meaningful batting contribution in either innings. He had only himself to blame for both dismissals, although Kohli calling him through for a non-existent single played a part as well.
Sarfaraz Khan: 3/10
Sarfaraz couldn't capitalize on his plucky second-innings effort in Bengaluru. New Zealand had accurate bowling plans against the 27-year-old, who was outfoxed by Mitchell Santner in both innings.
Ravindra Jadeja: 5/10
Jadeja's bowling was a serious letdown for most parts of the Test as he got his lines wrong and didn't seem capable of identifying the right speeds to bowl. The all-rounder didn't contribute a great deal with the bat either, as India fell to a humbling defeat.
Ravichandran Ashwin: 6/10
Like Jadeja, Ashwin was well off the pace in Pune. While he looked decent on Day 1, giving India their first few breakthroughs and beating the bat plenty of times, he was outbowled by a number of spinners over the course of the Test. The veteran off-spinner couldn't shore up the lower order as well.
Washington Sundar: 9.5/10
Sundar was an inspired selection by India, as he came up with 11 wickets in the match, including a game-defining seven-fer in the first innings. The young off-spinner's revolutions on the ball and accurate lengths troubled the Kiwi batters. He was also one of the team's more assured batters against spin.
Jasprit Bumrah: 5/10
Bumrah finished the match without a wicket to his name, with Rohit relying on his spinners.
Akash Deep: 3/10
Deep didn't have much to do as he bowled only six overs in the match that were expensive. He wasn't required in the second innings.