Is Team India looking for a major overhaul after recent batting collapses in home conditions in Test? India got whitewashed at home for the first time after 24 years.
The Sunday morning turned sour for the Indian fans as Team India suffered a horrendous 0-3 series defeat at the hands of the Black Caps in perhaps the most shocking fashion. They embarrassed the fans and their nation and failed to achieve a consolation win in the last Test, resulting in the first-ever humiliating Test series whitewash since 2000.
On a rank turner, India were tasked with chasing down 147, which many experts at that time assumed to be slightly on the lower side. But very few ever anticipated the carnage that was to come. An extraordinary batting collapse ensued on a tricky fourth innings pitch at the Wankhede as India batters struggled to get their feet going especially whilst facing the New Zealand spinners.
As the dust settles on this series, India’s poor exhibition with the bat will be remembered by many. From 46 all out in Bengaluru to losing all 9 wickets to spin while chasing 147 in Mumbai, India’s batting department has severely underperformed and it is high time that the management takes some stern measures to revive India’s once glorious batting department as we build up to the much anticipated Border Gavaskar Test series.
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A look at India’s unthinkable batting collapses since 2023
Prior to the New Zealand Test series, India had seen some disastrous batting collapses at home since 2023. The issue came to haunt them when India faced Australia in the third Test of the 2023 Border Gavaskar series in Indore. The Aussie spin attack wreaked havoc and bundled India out for less than 180 in both innings. Although the pitch was deemed average by the ICC, India’s dismal performance of 109 took everyone by storm.
To get rolled over for such a low score on day one was something unacceptable by the India batters. On the same pitch, Australia went on to post nearly 200, and in response, India were further bundled out for 163 in the second innings. A staggering 19 out of 20 wickets fell to spin. The defeat sent shockwaves throughout the nation as fans struggled to come to terms with India’s shambolic batting performance.
Then came the infamous 46 all-out in Bengaluru when Rohit Sharma shot himself in the foot by deciding to bat first on a gloomy first day of the Test. The move backfired instantly as India’s batting lineup folded like a pack of cards. This time around, pace proved to be their nemesis as the Kiwi pacers thrived in the overcast conditions to account for all ten of India’s dismissals. Despite making a resounding recovery in the second innings, India once again managed to throw it away and went from 408-3 to 462-10 on a pitch that did not possess any demons.
Moving on to the second Test in the same series, India were all at sea against the Kiwi spinners as they found themselves bundled out for 156 in the first innings. Only two days into that Test, India’s batting department astonishingly disintegrated on a track that was not alarmingly turning square. Despite that, India lost all nine wickets to spin in that innings. But a major collapse stunned us all during the all-important third Test when India, despite being in a dominant position of 78-1 threw it away to find itself 84-4 by the end of day one. Yashashwi Jaiswal’s atrocious sweep shot triggered the collapse which brought the arrival of Mohammed Siraj who was trapped leg before wicket a ball later.
That double blow from New Zealand caused panic for the home side which compelled Kohli to take a needless run only for him to be run out. With India needing a mere 147 in the fourth innings, their batting was once again in disarray against the spinning ball and as fate would have it, half of the side was already back in the hut with just 29 on the board. Pant turned out to be a lone warrior and played a counter-attacking innings of 64 (57) to keep India in the race. But after his dismissal, the floodgates opened as the home side lost its way and agonizingly fell short by 25 runs.
These are some of the major batting collapses we have seen in recent times. Spin has proven to be a key factor behind India’s disastrous batting collapses. It has been widely believed that India batters have an astute technique and temperament against spin but that very notion was challenged in this series. The same was rightly pointed out on air by Simon Doull in the aftermath of the third Test. Experts suggest that the average against the spinners has been on the decline since the start of 2024. The India batters averaged just a shade under 40 and lost as many as 60 wickets in that series but that average stoops to an all-time low of 24.4 in the recently concluded New Zealand series which saw a record 37 wickets fall to spin.
Read More: India collapse again in first innings; What are the reasons behind dismal outings with the bat?
What do these collapses indicate?
The driving cause for such a drastic batting failure can be directed to their overreliance on white-ball cricket. The advent of IPL and bilateral white-ball series have moved our prime batters away from the longest format that requires a whole different set of skills to excel. Most of India batters play the majority of their cricket in this format and make limited or barely any appearances in domestic red-ball cricket, As a matter of fact, Rohit and Kohli last featured in an FC game way back in 2012. Moreover, the decision to roll out spin pitches to skittle visiting teams is backfiring massively as most of our frontline batters are more accustomed to playing in the shorter formats.
Although India have a rich pool of talented players in the domestic circuit, the big guns have to shoulder a lot of responsibility when such embarrassing results are achieved. Some of the big guns include Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul. These players have a demonstrated track record in the Test format at home but have found themselves severely short of runs when the country needed them to deliver.
Their average, especially against spin, has been a cause for concern. Virat’s average after the series has dipped to a dismal low of nearly 25 and has been out in 7 out of 8 innings to spin. Rohit too has a worrying record against spin in recent times averaging nearly 28 since 2020 and has been dismissed to spin in 13 out of 25 innings. KL Rahul on the other hand has been a major disappointment in the series and the batter has not achieved any credible success off late with the bat which led to his exclusion after the first Test. His average against spin stands at 33.87 but that average in 2024 is expected to have dented much further.
Do these worrying stats prompt drastic alterations to our batting department?
To see the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggle in crunch games calls for urgent and sweeping changes. Management needs to make a bold call to drop these stalwarts and make way for someone like Dhruv Jurel or Abhimanyu Easwaran who have proven their appetite to score runs on the biggest of the stages. Virat Kohli in particular is finding new ways of getting out to spin and throughout the entirety of the series, he struggled to fine-tune his technique to adapt better, unlike Gill who was quick enough to learn from his mistake in the Pune Test.
Furthermore, for some players, age seems to be catching up. They are simply not fit enough to be in the side, especially Ravichandran Ashwin who is nearly 40. Ashwin is undoubtedly a gifted cricketing genius but it appears that the veteran all-rounder may not have a lot of cricket left in him. Although he continues to dazzle with the ball in helpful conditions, the same can’t be said when he has the bat in hand. A reckless reverse sweep shot against Phillips in the third Test shows how low his batting skills have fallen in recent times.
A time when maturity was required, Ashwin’s rash shot selection opened the door for New Zealand to complete an unbelievable series white wash. His counterpart Washington Sundar on the other hand, has performed exceedingly well, both with the bat and with the ball in the series. He starred with a seven-fer in the second Test and contributed lower down the order with some vital runs. On the flip side, Ashwin concluded the Test series on a rather disappointing note averaging well over 40 with the ball and finishing with a shocking strike rate of 65.33 By looking at his recent performance, Ashwin’s days could be numbered and Sundar could well see himself becoming Ashwin’s successor in the longest format.
It is high time that BCCI start looking beyond these stalwarts or give them a break which would give them sufficient time to strategize and rejuvenate. This devastating series defeat has further complicated India’s road to the WTC Final 2023-25. After suffering three Test defeats on the bounce, India will have a mountain to climb when they tour Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy later this month and will need to win four out of five Test matches to stay alive in the ongoing WTC race.
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