Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to India's 3-0 whitewash against New Zealand in 2024 Test series ft. Sunil Gavaskar
New Zealand made history by becoming the first team to whitewash India in a three-match Test series on Indian soil. The visitors arrived for the third Test in Mumbai with an unassailable 2-0 lead, following convincing victories in Bengaluru and Pune.
India needed to chase 147 runs on a tricky Wankhede pitch but struggled against New Zealand's spinners. Rishabh Pant was the standout performer with 64 runs, while the rest of the batting lineup faltered, resulting in a 25-run defeat and a clean sweep for New Zealand.
With the loss, India have slipped to second place in the World Test Championship standings. Rohit Sharma and his team must now win four and draw one of their five Tests against Australia to qualify for the WTC final on their own.
The series defeat marks a tough moment for India, as it is their first home Test series loss in 12 years. On that note, let's explore how experts have reacted to this historic victory for New Zealand and the disappointment experienced by India.
#1 Simon Doull
Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull remarked that turning pitches in India has often benefited visiting teams more than the hosts.
He acknowledged the vulnerabilities of Indian batters against spin. Doull noted that the team's past success at home was due to the quality batting surfaces they produced, while world-class spinners like Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin excelled in their bowling roles.
Doull told Jio Cinema:
“The misconception that the Indian batters are better at playing spin is exactly that. It is a misconception. The reason India have had success at home predominantly is because, in conditions that are decent for batting, they've had the two best in the world. And the numbers do not lie around Jadeja and Ashwin. So to me, all of India's success was around just good pitches, really good pitches. Allow your batters to get the runs and our spinners will be better than yours.”
“What's happened now is they've let opposition spinners in, and with all due respect, Tom Hartley and Mitchell Santner are guys that you would not say would come here and be high-quality test match bowlers. But India is being undone by these types of bowlers now, and I think that is where the problem lies. It's not with their ability to play spin compared to the others; it's with the surface,” he added.
#2 Anil Kumble
India's all-time leading wicket-taker in Test cricket and former spinner Anil Kumble also expressed that Indian batters have not sufficiently improved their technique against spinners, which has resulted in a series of collapses.
He said in a discussion on Jio Cinema:
“This has consistently happened over the last three Test matches. Whenever the spinners come on, there hasn’t been a noticeable improvement from one game to the next. A couple of players have made certain adjustments, which has helped in the batting lineup, but collectively, as a batting unit, they haven’t been able to avoid those collapses.”
“This has happened far too often in a single session, which is a concern. For this lineup to say, ‘There’s nothing wrong’ — I think there’s something seriously wrong here. The most challenging part is accepting that there’s a problem. I’m sure that when this Indian team sits down to introspect, they’ll recognize that there is indeed a serious issue that needs to be addressed,” Kumble added.
#3 Karsan Ghavri
Former Indian player Karsan Ghavri, who played 39 Tests, criticized senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for their lack of form. He also expressed concern about what the team will do in Australia if they struggle to win in their home conditions.
He said in an interview with the Times of India:
"It was a very, very poor performance. I am really disappointed with the way our batters performed, especially Rohit and Virat. If you can’t perform well in your own conditions, what will you do in Australia? First, you lost in Bengaluru and made changes for the second Test, but then lost that match within three days.I blame our batsmen for this. We are not putting enough runs on the board. In Bengaluru, we were all out for 46. In Pune, we didn’t score more than 260 in either innings."
"That is very poor batting. Apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal, no one showed the grit to score runs. In Tests, you need big partnerships. Our top batsmen—whether it’s Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, or youngsters like Shubman Gill—needed to build at least two big stands. These batters must understand that they need to put up scores of over 350 or 400 to be competitive in a Test match," he added.
#4 Basit Ali
Pakistani expert Basit Ali criticized the Indian team for being overconfident and underestimating the Kiwis. He also commended New Zealand for their thorough preparation for the series.
On his YouTube channel, 'BasitAliShow,' he said (via India Today):
“The match India won against Bangladesh in two days and New Zealand's 2-0 defeat in Sri Lanka, the team might have thought they would beat the Kiwis easily. This means, Indian management and Indian players were overconfident."
"New Zealand did their homework. They had nothing to lose. No one would have thought that the Kiwis might be able to defeat India. Even New Zealand themselves wouldn't have thought of something like this. But they did their homework,” he added.
#5 Sunil Gavaskar
Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar expressed his disappointment at losing all three games but encouraged the team to treat the series as a “bad dream” and to shift their focus to the upcoming tour of Australia.
In an interview with The Indian Express, he said:
“One can understand losing a Test match, which has happened before but all three Test matches are tough to take. But we have to back the team because we have a big tour ahead. We can’t start criticising the team.”
"Yes, it’s very disappointing. We all know how good these players have been over so many years. So what I would say to them is ‘just forget it like it was a bad dream.' Just totally focus on Australia. Go there, practice with purpose and the intent of winning a series for the third time," he added.
India will go up against Australia in a five-match Test series, starting November 22 in Perth.