Factors behind the historic defeat of Rohit Sharma and company – Firstpost

A true leader’s character is revealed in many ways through adversity. Rohit Sharma may have overseen India’s worst run of Test cricket on home soil, but he was quick to raise his hand and take responsibility as a leader, as a captain and, perhaps most importantly, as a batter.

Rohit had to forget this series in many ways. Just four months after masterminding a remarkable run at the T20 World Cup in America, he crossed the other end of the spectrum to go down in the history books as the first Indian skipper to achieve fame in a three-Test series on home soil. . It will be difficult to come to terms with this, no matter what happens in Australia over the next two months.

What actually happens in Australia will not necessarily depend on the events of the last three weeks. The conditions Down Under will be very different with the ball not spitting, turning and biting like it did in Pune and Mumbai in the last two games. But the tasks will be different. There will be pace, there will be bounce, there will be relentless Australian pressure and there will be no place to hide.

How much should India consider the 0-3 defeat at the hands of a brave New Zealand, a wonderful New Zealand, a commendable New Zealand who achieved what no team in the world had ever achieved before? A considerable amount, that goes without saying. The long-held belief that India still has the best batsmen in the world has been completely shattered.

It would be good if it turned out that they are no worse than the others, but even this consolation cannot be grasped. India was stunned and bewitched, bewildered and mesmerized by Mitchell Santner in Pune and Ajaz Patel in Mumbai. Both are left-arm spinners but different types of left-arm spinners: Santner is taller and the latter is flatter and metronomically accurate, Ajas is shorter but with more variety and the ability to give the ball more.

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Bengaluru and the 46ers giving it their all when play finally began on the second day should be seen for what it was – a dismissal without explanation. It happened to the best, too, when everything took on the edge, every edge was snatched away. This happened to India themselves in Adelaide in December 2020 when they were bowled out for their lowest Test score of 36.

That they recovered from that humiliation to beat Australia 2-1 may be a moot point now, but 46 runs is not the yardstick by which India should be judged. This must be on the back of 153 and 245 in Pune, 263 in the first innings in Mumbai and a pathetic 121 in the second in the Wankhede when the target of 147 was set – a competitive but by no means unattainable total.

What was glaring throughout the series was the lack of effective game plans against the turning ball. There can’t be one collective template that every batter should be forced to accept, and the think tank has put the onus on individuals to develop what they think is the best approach for each of them.

New Zealand’s plan for historic Test series win over India | From the first shot to carefully thought out plans

But only a few have cracked the code with any consistency or success. Rishabh Pant was the outstanding exception, but there can only be one Rishabh Pant.

The others froze like rabbits in headlights. At various stages, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Washington Sundar bucked the trend, but the biggest disappointment was Virat Kohli.

Once the best all-rounder of his generation, Kohli had a meager 93 runs – two more than his captain – from six innings, with 70 of them coming in the second innings in Bengaluru alone.

He looked out of sorts beyond that one shot, his defensive play questionable and his mentality open to scrutiny. He found ways and means to cope with failure, including being bowled out at full tilt and ending up at the stumps.

From the behemoth he once was, striding through the batting world like a colossus, he has become a mere mortal left wondering where his next big hit will come from, hardly ideal preparation for the start of the Test series in Australia. .

India will be without Rohit for at least one of the first two Tests Down Under, most likely the first match in Perth, and so the burden will fall on Kohli, with six tons in Australia, to guide the young group of players.

Also read | Current form aside, Kohli and Rohit deserve to be judged only after the Australia tour is over.

But his top priority will and must be getting back to running, because for India to remain competitive there, it will need Kohli firing on all cylinders. Otherwise Australia will cover them all over like a rash.

India’s batters will be grateful that they won’t have to face a spin diet for at least the next 11 months – they don’t play a Test at home between now and next October – but occasionally they might get a Bangalore redux and their resilience and composure will be tested .

They’ll have to respond in kind because the phrase “can’t play seam, can’t play spin” is starting to rear its ugly head. India must also be wary of making bizarre decisions, such as batting first on a sticky, wet surface under an overcast sky in Bengaluru or recklessly sending in Mohammed Siraj as a night watchman in the first innings in Mumbai.

One way of looking at the situation is that Murphy’s Law caught up with the Indians in this series against New Zealand – everything that could go wrong did go wrong, with no small help from the home team. From here the road forward can only go up. India need four Test wins from five matches in Australia to guarantee a place in the World Test Championship final; for now they will have their first victory. And then hopefully build from there. It won’t be easy, but whoever said Test cricket is easy.

India’s technical shortcomings in combating disinformation have been exhausted over the past three weeks. The next two months will be a stern test of fast bowling technique, character, attitude, mindset and ability to bounce back. What answers will we get?