Following India’s series defeat to New Zealand on home soil, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan reached out to X to express both praise for New Zealand and concerns about the Indian team’s performance in the longer format. In his tweet, Pathan lauded New Zealand’s impressive achievement and highlighted the need for reflection and improvement within Team India. “Well done New Zealand on winning the series on Indian soil! Team India has a lot to think about. The senior players need to step up and prove themselves in the final format of the game. The next three months will be crucial for Team India. their.”
Well done New Zealand for winning the series on Indian soil! Team India has a lot to think about. Senior players need to step up and show the best format of the game. The next three months will be decisive for them.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 26, 2024
Pathan acknowledged the significance of New Zealand’s first-ever Test series win in India. He further emphasized that this defeat marks a critical period for the Indian team, especially for its experienced players.
Pathan stressed the importance of the coming months for India as they look to address areas of concern in preparation for the Tests in Australia. He urged experienced Indian players to take more responsibility and improve their performance.
Coming into the match, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. Half-centuries from Devon Conway (76 off 141 balls, with 11 fours) and Rachin Ravindra (65 off 105 balls, with five fours and a six) put the Kiwis in a strong position at 197/3 with Ravichandran Ashwin (3/41). ) was the only one that made some dents in the batting. After Conway’s dismissal, the floodgates opened for wickets and returner Washington Sundar (7/59) got the remaining wickets to take NZ to 259 runs.
India were tasked with overcoming this rather modest result and gaining a significant lead. After captain Rohit Sharma’s dismissal for a duck, youngsters Shubman Gill (30 off 72 balls, with two fours and a six) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (30 off 60 balls, with four boundaries) tried to forge a partnership. However, their efforts were cut short by 49 runs. As with the first innings, the removal of Gill’s set opened the door for Mitchell Santner to run through the Indian line-up. Santner (7/53) and Glenn Phillips (2/26) made the Indian batters dance to their tune on their pitches, bowling them out for just 156 runs. Ravindra Jadeja scored 38 off 46 balls with three fours and two sixes.
The Kiwis took a commanding position in the second innings. Led by captain Tom Latham, who scored 86 from 133 balls, with 10 fours and some important contributions from Phillips (48 from 82 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Tom Blundell (41 from 83 balls, with three fours), the New Zealanders increased your performance. A 103-run first innings resulted in a lead of 358 runs and the spinners bowled him out for 255 after some excellent bowling in the first session of the third day.
Sundar (4/56) again led the bowling while Jadeja (3/72) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/97) paced the lower middle order and tail.
Chasing 359, India got a fine start from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who stitched a valuable 62-run stand with Shubman Gill (23 off 31 balls, with four boundaries). However, after Jaiswal’s dismissal of 77 off 65 balls, with nine fours and three sixes, India never recovered, falling prey to the Kiwi spinners and being bowled out for 245, losing the Test by 113 runs. With this, India also registered their first home series defeat in 12 years.
Santner (6/104) was the star again, taking 13 wickets in the match, while Phillips (two wickets) and Ajaz (one wicket) also offered some support to finish the Test two days early.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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