The big mistakes that cost India

Bad at bats, bad leadership, ignorant coaches…

New Zealand became the first team to whitewash India at home in a series of three or more matches.

The courageous New Zealand team exceeded all expectations with their resilient performance across all three Tests.

Once India made a mistake with the toss in Bengaluru, the Kiwis took advantage of most of the circumstances to not only dominate in the series opener but also continue the momentum.

New Zealand went on to surpass India at their own game, excelling with both bat and ball on the spin-friendly pitches in Pune and Mumbai.

India have only themselves to blame for the poor performance as the batters struggled to deal with the Kiwi spinners while their own spinners failed to contain the opposition batters on spin-friendly tracks.

The big mistakes that cost India dearly against New Zealand:

Rohit Sharma’s toss debacle in Bengaluru

Rohit’s decision to bat first in forearm-friendly conditions in Bengaluru backfired in a big way. India were bowled out for 46 – their lowest total in a home Test as New Zealand’s pacers ran riot with the ball.

Although India recovered by posting 462 in the second innings, there was no looking back after New Zealand took a huge lead in the first innings.

Rohit took responsibility for the toss debacle, which went a long way in setting the tone for the rest of the series.

Rohit’s reckless approach with the bat

While Rohit’s captaincy left a lot to be desired, his approach with the bat confused many.

It seemed like Rohit had no plan B and his only approach was to go all out and attack the New Zealand pacers. But the experienced pace trio from New Zealand were too difficult to tackle.

They made the new ball count and exposed Rohit’s weakness against the incoming delivery.

Rohit didn’t help his cause either with a gruesome shot. He charged down the track to Tim Southee on a lively delivery in Bengaluru and paid the price, falling to the same bowler in Pune when he wobbled against the new ball.

In the Mumbai Test, when India were chasing a feasible 147, he left everyone shocked when he attempted a reckless pull shot from Matt Henry, only to fail on a simple catch to the fielder at mid-off.

Kohli doesn’t learn from failures

Kohli is going through the worst phase of his career.

Not only have the runs dried up, but his poor technique against spinners has been thoroughly exposed. Apart from 70 in the second innings in Bengaluru, his other five scores in the series read: 0, 1, 17, 4 and 1.

His soft dismissal to spinner Glenn Phillips on the last ball of the third day in Bengaluru perhaps sowed the seeds of doubt in his mind.

Since that moment, his battle against spider went from bad to worse.

The fans in Pune were stunned when he missed a full toss from Mitchell Santner and was bowled for one and trapped leg before by the same bowler in the second innings.

Kohli had another brain fade moment in Mumbai when he threw away his wicket attempting a non-existent single at mid-on.

Four of his six dismissals in the series came against spinners and his place in the Test team looks in jeopardy unless he redeems himself in Australia.

Wrong team selection

Rohit and head coach Gautam Gambhir were guilty of not getting the team right.

India made a mistake by choosing two pacers for a spin-friendly delivery in Pune and did the same in Mumbai. Moreover, they never chose to try Axar Patel despite Ashwin’s struggles.

Axar has a stellar record at home, with 55 wickets in 14 Tests, and is also handy with the bat.

Ashwin finished with nine wickets in the three Tests at an average of 41 – his worst performance in a home series.

Young people who do not take responsibility

India’s young players showed promise as they excelled in patches but failed to maintain consistency.

Rishabh Pant was the only one to enjoy a good run with the bat with three half-centuries.

Sarfaraz Khan had nothing to show for it other than his 150 in Bengaluru, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill also managed just one fifty each in the series.

Washington Sundar was another young player who exceeded expectations. Wash returned to the Test team after three years and claimed 11 wickets in Pune, but the dismal performance of the batsmen saw his efforts go to waste.

No clear strategy against NZ spinners

Can the Indian coaching staff escape blame for the team’s dismal performance?

Gautam Gambhir as head coach saw his KKR colleagues join him in the Indian team, including Abhishek Nayar and Ryan ten Doeschate as assistant coaches, along with Morne Morkel as bowling coach, but their impact remains to be seen.

Clearly, they could not find a solution to the Indian batsmen’s shortcomings in terms of spin. Except for Pant, who was clear with his approach, all the other batters seemed to be without a good strategy to counter New Zealand’s fantastic game plan with the ball as they worked to build the pressure by drying up runs.

None of the Indian batsmen were willing to work hard by playing out sessions as is the case in Test cricket. Such has been the focus on playing with intent that it seems like the only option Indian batsmen have to counter good bowlers is to attack.

It’s hard to see anyone from the Indian line-up fighting out a full session to save a Test match when necessary in Australian conditions.