New Zealand vs India 2020: 5 players who under-performed in the Test series
The Indian team suffered one of their biggest defeats in recent times when they were whitewashed by New Zealand in the two-match Test series.
The visitors went into the series on the back of an unbeaten run in the World Test Championship and were expected to win the series against the struggling New Zealand side that faced a heavy defeat against arch-rivals Australia. But the Kiwis showed immense character and emerged victorious.
Talking about India's performance in the series, it was a collective failure from the entire team. While the batsmen failed to cope with the hostile Kiwi pace bowling, the bowlers, who have been India's strength in the past couple of years, could not get rid of the hosts' batsmen early enough.
It was quite evident that the Indian team was undone by the bowler-friendly conditions that were on offer. The batting unit struggled to put up substantial totals in both the matches, and that put the team on the backfoot.
There were a few individuals who were expected to deliver the goods but failed to live up to the expectations. The poor performance of these players was a major reason for India's defeat.
Here are five players who under-performed in the Test series against New Zealand.
#5 Ajinkya Rahane
After a lean couple of years in 2017 and 2018, Ajinkya Rahane came back strongly last year. The Indian vice-captain averaged 71.33 in 2019 and was expected to continue his good form in 2020 as well.
Moreover, Rahane is known for his ability to play in bowler-friendly conditions and has produced some gritty innings in England and South Africa in the past.
However, he managed to score just 91 runs in 4 innings against New Zealand and looked completely out of sorts, especially in the second Test. A lot more was expected from an experienced campaigner like Rahane.