Sachin Tendulkar reacts to India’s home series loss vs New Zealand; urges team to introspect
Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar responded to India’s home Test series drubbing at the hands of New Zealand and described it as a “tough pill to swallow”. Tendulkar questioned what went awry for India and urged the team to introspect. However, he praised Shubman Gill for his impressive 90-run knock in the first innings and Rishabh Pant for scoring half-centuries in both innings and handling difficult conditions effectively.
India suffered a loss in a Test series on their home turf for the first time in 12 years as New Zealand won the series 3-0 against the team led by Rohit Sharma.
“Losing 3-0 at home is a tough pill to swallow, and it calls for introspection. Was it lack of preparation, was it poor shot selection, or was it lack of match practice? Shubman Gill showed resilience in the first innings, and Rishabh Pant was brilliant in both innings- his footwork made a challenging surface look like a different one altogether. He was simply superb,” Tendulkar wrote on X.
Also read: Reality check! Fingers point at Virat and Rohit after Nz whitewash India 3-0
Historic Test series win for New Zealand
New Zealand team led by Tom Latham showed great character in challenging Indian conditions and secured a historic series win over India by 3-0 after defeating Men In Blue in Mumbai Test by a margin of 25 runs.
India has never before experienced a whitewash in a home series of three or more Tests. New Zealand joined England (4), Australia (3), and West Indies (once) as one of the only four sides to defeat India in a series of 3 or more Tests without losing a match.
This was the first time New Zealand won three Tests in a series, whether at home or away, and also the first time they won three consecutive away Tests.
Team India struggled while chasing a modest target of 147 runs on a challenging and spin-friendly pitch. In the first 8 overs itself, India had lost half of its side and were struggling at a score of 29/5. Rishabh Pant scored 64 in a brave counter-attacking knock but it was not enough to take the home team to victory after his dismissal caused a familiar collapse. Ajaz Patel was the pick of the Kiwi bowlers taking six wickets as India were dismissed for 121 runs.
