New Zealand has created history by achieving a 3-0 whitewash against India in the third Test series held in Mumbai. The Kiwis won the third test match against the host by 25 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.
The men in blue were zipped out for 121 runs, while chasing a total of 147 runs to win the final series following a defeat in the first two matches. Mumbai born Kiwi spinner Ajaz Patel's incredible 11160 led the team to this historical win. The black caps are the second team to achieve a test series whitewash against India on their home soil, with South Africa being the first team to fulfil that in 2000.
This loss didn’t go well with fans on social media who criticised Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli along with other players who were part of the test series.
Floods of tweet on social media have also requested the Board of Control for Cricket in India to get back Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane who have helped India to win test series a lot of times in the past.
37-year-old Rohit Sharma – Captain ✅
36-year-old Cheteshwar Pujara – Too old to get selected ❌
36-year-old Ajinkya Rahane – Too old to get selected ❌
35-year-old Virat Kohli – Fittest cricketer in the world ✅
Hypocrisy at its peak pic.twitter.com/N3f8m2wTKT— Atmaram Tukaram Bhide (@BakchodBhide) October 26, 2024
Have you heard the name Cheteshwar Pujara ?
Here’s a few stats for @cheteshwar1#pujara for the last 12 months.
County- 6 centuries in 2023 for Sussex
Ranji trophy – scored his 18th double hundred & 25th Ranji
Six centuries in 2024 for Saurashtra and Sussex combined… pic.twitter.com/fWaEJJA1z1— Sanjay Lazar (@sjlazars) October 25, 2024
@BCCI shameless Bcci, Rahane and Pujara helped a lot win the test series in Australia.. Still they are not in the team. Bring Pujara back in the team for BGT…
— smole (@smileplease_12) October 26, 2024
Former Indian Players React
Former Indian cricketers, including Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan, shared their dissatisfaction against the humiliating 0-3 whitewash of India on their home soil on social media.
Cricket truly is a humbling sport, isn’t it? Just months after our T20 World Cup win, we face a historic whitewash. That’s the beauty of this game! Bigger tests lie ahead with the Australia series & the way forward is to introspect, learn and look up!
Congratulations to the…— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) November 3, 2024
Turning pitches becoming ur own enemy #INDvsNZTEST Congratulations NZ you outplayed us. Been saying from many years . Team India needs to play on better pitches. These turning pitches making every batsman look very ordinary .
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) November 3, 2024
Had a solid conversation with @iamyusufpathan bhai yesterday. He made a valid point about domestic cricket – we’re either playing on grassy pitches or flat tracks, but rarely on turning surfaces anymore. Plus, top players aren’t playing domestic cricket. This could hurt us in the…
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 3, 2024
That Sarfaraz Khan shot finishes off so far, one of the worst batting displays by India. This is worse than 36 & 46 all out.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) November 3, 2024
Since only four New Zealand batters managed to score double digit, the Kiwis scored 235 runs in the final test. This includes Will Young and Daryl Mitchell’s important half centuries of 71 and 82 runs respectively. Indian spinners turned out to be a threat for the black caps with Ravindra Jadeja claiming five wickets and Washington Sundar’s four wicket haul.
Tables turned for India in the final innings of the series, as the top order for India collapsed. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant stepped up to hold the fort single-handedly, but fell short of leading the team to victory, finishing with a score of 64.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma, during the post-match presentation, highlighted his poor performance with the bat and in leading the team. “As a captain as well, I was not at my best at leading the team as well. And not with the bat as well. That is something from the personal point of view,” he said.
Press Trust of India’s report suggests that the defeat against New Zealand has put Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin’s cricketing future in the dark. The upcoming five match test series against Australia could be the last for two out of the four seniors currently at the last leg of their international careers.
“If India doesn't qualify for World Test Championship final in England, one can be rest assured that all four super seniors won't be on that flight to UK for the ensuing five-Test series. In any case, all four have likely played their final Test at home together,” a senior BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
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India Falls To Second In WTC Standings
India lost its top spot in the World Test Championship standing, after the recent whitewash against the Kiwis.
Ahead of the Border Gavaskar series, scheduled to take place later this month, India moved to the second position in the WTC standings, making way for Australia to obtain the first spot. Meanwhile, New Zealand reclaimed its fourth spot which they lost to South Africa after the Proteas whitewashed Bangladesh earlier this week.
All stakes are high for the men in blue as they would require a 4-1 series victory against the Pat Cummins led team. They need to win four out of five matches to qualify for WTC finals, without depending on another team’s performance.
While sharing his thoughts on India's test future, Rohit said that the Australia series is a very important game for India, and he was focused and not looking beyond the series. "I'm not going to look beyond Australia series. Australia series, for us is now very, very important. We will try and focus on that rather than thinking what happens after," he said.
After an incredible victory in the recent Indian Premier League, the Indian team under Gautam Gambhir's coaching has not had a rosy beginning. He will be eager for the final phase of the World Test Championship, which features a challenging five-match Test series in Australia.
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