The recent test series between India and New Zealand has left cricket fans across the nation in disbelief and disappointment. In a shocking, dismal and ignominious performance put up by Team India, they succumbed to New Zealand on their own turf, as the kiwis grabbed an unassailable 2-0 lead against the Men in Blue. This infamous debacle started with India crumbling to a mere 46 all out in the first innings of the first test, their fourth lowest total in tests. Almost another phone number look was formed, reminiscent 36 all out against Australia in 2020, but saved by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, who scored 13 off 63 and 20 off 49 respectively.
Look on the bright side Indian fans .. at least you have got past 36 .. 😜😜
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 17, 2024
New Zealand started off their innings with an excellent opening partnership from Tom Latham and Devon Conway. Everything was going smoothly, until the wicket of Daryl Mitchell, which marked New Zealand collapse’s from 193/3 to 233/7. It seemed like India had bounced back incredibly well despite the horrendous collapse in the first innings, which was however undone by the partnership between Rachin Ravindra and Tim Southee. Rachin scored a scintillating and commendable century under immense pressure, reaching 134 off 157; also receiving able support from Southee, who played a remarkable innings of 65 off 73, knitting a 137 run partnership, bailing the kiwis out of trouble to take them to 402.
Rachin Ravindra at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru:
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 18, 2024
– A World Cup century.
– A Test century.
THE LOCAL BOY FROM NEW ZEALAND. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/nDxwKW1Pra
This partnership doomed the game for India. Their inability to take advantage of New Zealand’s collapse and the pressure they piled on them is extremely reprehensible. They let a chance to pull off an epic comeback victory slip away, as New Zealand had a mammoth lead of 356 runs. However, India played tenaciously in their second innings, reaching 408/3 in 84 overs, giving a glimmer of hope to bat long(and extend their lead highly) for a draw or even a miraculous victory, as India is known to be able to grab victory from the jaws of draw and defeat in such situations, even managing to dismiss teams within the few available overs on Day 5 of tests. However, none of that happened, as despite a strong second-innings fightback, India’s hopes were dashed as they collapsed once again , losing their last 7 wickets in just 54 runs, with none of the batsman stepping up after the Sarfaraz-Pant partnership, even the likes of KL Rahul; giving New Zealand a modest target of 107, which was chased down easily. Even during the chase, India created no scope for defending the low total, failing to perform at their best and pull a rabbit out of the hat, like they have done several times before. It was an absolutely off-putting defeat, a disheartening performance from such a strong team.
What has he done to stay in the team.
— Gautam (@AnkitGautam2004) October 19, 2024
Can't Catch while fielding.
Can't bat.
Can't score runs even when the team needs him the most.
Can't score runs even when team don't need runs.
Boring player to watch.
No game awareness, nothing.
KL Rahul for you guys.#INDvNZ #KLRahul pic.twitter.com/sPxbIjLk7z
However, there was still hope for a comeback as India had two more tests to go, and hadn’t given away the series yet. Their history also suggested that they would not panic after defeat in the first test and would be able to make a great comeback. However, neither statistics nor the team’s performance helped in the second test, as India collapsed to yet another disgraceful and loathsome defeat, also losing the series, breaking the hearts of hundreds of millions of Indian fans.
India started off well, bundling out the kiwis for 259 and preventing any comeback from the tail enders this time, which immediately gave the men in blue the upper hand and a chance to grab an easy victory. However, a promising start quickly turned sour as they only managed another dismal collapse as they were bundled out for just 156, displaying very poor and reprehensible performance and shot selection, conceding a detrimental 103 run lead. Ian Smith even slammed this collapse, saying – “Well, this is worse that 46 all out if you ask me. This is some poor batting and shot selection. I can understand the first Test, but instead of playing themselves in, batting for time, India for some reason, are going after the bowling. They think they can just bash this New Zealand bowling line-up. This is only Day 2 of the Test match. There is ample time to go but the way India are playing, none of them are going to be here that long.” Although they managed to dismiss New Zealand for 255 in the second innings, they got a mammoth target of 359, owing to their low total in their first innings and conceding a huge lead.
However, India started the chase smoothly, racing away to 127/2 in just 21 overs, with Yashasvi Jaiswal playing an aggressive ODI(and somewhat T20) like innings of 77 off 65. From here, it should have been an easy victory. However, just like in the rest of the series, another unexpected and shocking turnaround happened against the men in blue, as they collapsed yet again, losing wickets at regular intervals and in quick succession, ultimately crumbling to 245 all out, losing the match by a substantial margin of 113 runs. The tail end showed some resistance, but to no avail. With this defeat, India slipped into a humiliating series defeat on their very own turf, as New Zealand now have an unassailable 2-0 lead, with India losing their first home test series in 12 years and facing their first series loss against New Zealand at home in 70 years.
So, our 12-year dominance at home in Test cricket has sadly come to an end.
— The Cinéprism (@TheCineprism) October 26, 2024
Thank you "intent" duo. #INDvsNZ pic.twitter.com/DoOD1OOSjC
Losing a Test series at home in India is as equal as losing a home ODI World Cup…. This is embarrassing.
— Sai (@akakrcb6) October 26, 2024
The entire series has been highly shocking and off-putting, containing one of the most unexpected and disgraceful collapses and defeats of Team India. The team’s inability to win at their home ground, take advantage of momentum to dominate and prevent collapses or stabilize themselves during one is very ignominious and shocking. The collapses have been some of the most reprehensible and dismal ones India has had in a while. They just haven’t been themselves in this test series. They just haven’t played like the strong and tenacious team they are, and have given away the series with their unnaturally poor performance. The best we can hope for now is that they at least don’t get whitewashed on their own home ground, however seeing the unnatural collapses and defeats can make any fan fearful of the possibility of so happening. This truly has been a very bitter pill to swallow and the team as well as its humongous fan base would hope for a swift turnaround in fortunes in the third test and in the later matches to come.
