After a poor showing in Bengaluru and then in Pune against New Zealand, India’s dominance at home in Test cricket has come to an end. A remarkable 12-year run with 18 consecutive home series wins now got the stop, with the current score line now standing at 18-1. In the last Test in Pune, Rohit Sharma and his team offered the visitors a turning track, expecting India’s spinners to put the Kiwis under pressure. Initially, they did, especially Washington Sundar, who troubled the New Zealand batters in the first innings.
However, when India came to bat, it was all about New Zealand’s veteran spinner Mitchell Santner, who cleaned up the top Indian batters, and bagged seven wickets.
In the second innings, when India came to chase a daunting target of 359, Santner once again dismantled the Indian lineup, and Rohit Sharma and co suffered a crushing 113-run loss. Now, with one Test left in the series, upcoming match is extremely crucial for India, especially in the context of the World Test Championship (WTC) standings. While India still holds the top position, they suffered a points deduction after this series loss, and a further defeat could possibly pull them down from the top spot. To avoid a clean sweep, Rohit Sharma’s team will need to step up.
India’s next match
India will play New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from 1 November to 5 November, starting at 9:30 AM. Viewers can watch the live streaming of this match on Jio Cinema, or if they prefer to watch the live telecast, they can tune into the Sports18 network.
Can India still qualify for WTC final in 2025?
India have to get four wins from their remaining six games to avoid relying on favourable results from other teams’ Test series. After this final match against New Zealand, India will face a bigger challenge with five Test matches in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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