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Former India captain Anil Kumble was not pleased with the team's performance in the Pune Test against New Zealand. After India suffered their first series loss in Indian cricket history against Tom Latham's team, Kumble blasted the team. Kumble stated on Jio Cinema that the Indian squad needs to improve their performance prior to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
After losing their first Test series in eleven years, the Indian team gave up their home-field supremacy. After Indian bowlers often claimed 20 wickets in a Test match, Kumble criticized the team's batting lineup and declared that it was time for the batsmen to step up. Additionally, Kumble praised the World Test Championship structure, stating that it has given equal importance to each Test match.
"I think that's the beauty about WTC. I know the series is done for India, but then every Test match is equally important. They have obviously made it harder for themselves. At the start of the series, we spoke about getting five wins for you to really sail into the championship final. But now if you need those four wins in the next six matches, that becomes even tougher because the one is at the Wankede Stadium against this extremely confident New Zealand side and then five against Australia in Australia," Anil Kumble said on Jio Cinema.
"I know India has done really well in the last two series that they played in Australia but again it's all the more tougher for India to qualify, but they have to really get their act together. The batting has been disappointing. The bowling will have its challenges right throughout. The reason that India is on the top there is because Indian bowlers have been able to pick up those 20 wickets. The batting needs to come together and start getting those runs," he further added.
India will now frantically try to defeat New Zealand in the last Test match. To ensure that they advance straight to the 2025 World Test Championship final, they must win at least four of the remaining six Test matches. From now on, India cannot afford to lose games; if they do, they would have to rely on other teams to advance to the tournament final.
