Rohit Sharma-led Team India's recent home Test series defeat against New Zealand left the cricketing world surprised. A once-formidable force at home, India's batting lineup was exposed by New Zealand's spin attack, particularly Mitchell Santner. The Kiwi spinner's exceptional performance, coupled with India's batting frailties, led to a humiliating 2-0 series loss. This unexpected defeat has sparked intense debate and criticism, with many questioning the team's preparation and strategy.
Indian batters' evident struggle against spin
New Zealand's 2-0 series victory over India has ended the latter's 12-year unbeaten streak in home Test cricket. This historic defeat exposed significant vulnerabilities in India's batting lineup, particularly against spin bowling.
India, once renowned for their dominance against spinners, has struggled to counter New Zealand's spin attack, especially Mitchell Santner. Santner's exceptional performance, claiming 13 wickets in the Pune Test, echoed India's 2017 collapse against Australia, where Steve O'Keefe took a similar match haul.
India suffer big defeat in 2nd Test against New Zealand to lose series
This series loss has raised serious concerns about India's batting depth and their ability to adapt to challenging spin conditions. Even Virat Kohli fell prey to New Zealand's spin trap. The team will need to address these issues to regain their dominance in Test cricket.
Rohit's brigade's Test series defeat has led to widespread criticism, with many former cricketers pointing to a lack of domestic cricket experience as a major contributing factor.
Dilip Vengsarkar has an advice for Indian batters to counter spin struggles
Former India's chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar emphasised the importance of domestic cricket in developing skills against spin bowling. He highlighted that consistent exposure to domestic cricket is essential for players to refine their techniques and adapt to challenging spin conditions. Vengsarkar expressed concern about the scheduling conflicts between Under-19 and India A tours and international fixtures, which often overshadow the significance of domestic cricket. He strongly advocated for players to prioritize domestic cricket to enhance their skills and avoid such batting collapses in the future.
“Unless you play domestic cricket, you'll not master the skills of playing spinners. I'm not talking about just playing on turning tracks but also playing spin well. This is why it's important that everyone be available to play domestic cricket. Also, when you have these Under-19 and India A tours on, at a time when international cricket is happening, it dilutes the importance of domestic cricket,” Vengsarkar was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
“It's an historic and well-deserved win for the Kiwis. What's important is that they knew what's expected of them to win the series in India, and they came here very well-prepared as they outclassed India,” he concluded.
