Whitewash complete! New Zealand beat India by 25 runs to humiliate Rohit Sharma’s team in Mumbai

The death knell on India’s chances to make it to the finals of the WTC finals were given a huge ring. Rohit Sharma became the first Indian captain in decades to get whitewashed in a home Test series. Chasing 147 to win, India yet again failed to display any fight witu the bat as the New Zealand spinners ran riot. 

With the exception of Rishabh Pant, rest of the batting unit were timid in their approach. Questions will be raised regarding the form and attitude of few players. Onus lays on the shoulder of Rohit Sharma who has failed to lead the team with the bat or on the field. With the huge tour of Australia starting under three weeks even Gautam Gambhir will be held responsible. 

There will also be questions raised about the failing form of Virat Kohli in the Test format. The 35-year-old managed to score just five runs in Mumbai which has seen his lean patch with the bat continue in 2024. Barring his 70 in Bengaluru, Kohli hasn’t managed to score many runs in the Test format. 

Also read: Why Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli need to be asked questions ahead of the Australian tour?

Clinical New Zealand embarrass India in their home turf

New Zealand added just 3 runs to their overnight score before getting bundled out for 174. Ravindra Jadeja got the final wicket of the Kiwi innings to complete his ten-wicket haul in the game. This left India a challenging target of 147 to chase on a wicket where spinners especially Ajaz Patel was getting huge purchase. 

Rohit Sharma tried to hit his way out of trouble and scored 11 runs from 11 balls. India’s skipper was caught by Glenn Phillips off Matt Henry to give the Kiwis a great start. Shubman Gill was the next man out as he left a straight ball from Patel and was bowled for just one run. 

Virat Kohli was snapped in the slips by Daryl Mitchell for 1 as Ajaz Patel got his second wicket. Sarfaraz Khan came out to bat at his home ground for the second time after having been out for duck in the first innings. The 27-year-old came Patel’s third scalp when he was out caught by Rachin Ravindra for 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored five runs before he was out LBW to Glenn Phillips. 

With the score reading 29/5, Ravindra Jadeja came out to bat with India still needing 118 runs to win. The pair of Pant and Jadeja added 42 runs for the 6th wicket as the home fans got some semblance of hope. Pant in particular was the aggressor as he used his feet and also played a few unorthodox shots. 

Ravindra Jadeja was caught by Will Young at forward short leg to give Patel his 4th wicket. At that stage India were 71/6 still needing 76 runs to win as Washington Sundar came to the wicket. Both Pant and Sundar then used the aggressive option to take India to lunch at 92/6 with India still needing 55 runs. 

Rishabh Pant used the same aggressive tactics he had prior to lunch. With the score reading 106, Ajaz Patel finally dismissed Pant for 60 as the Indian wicketkeeper came down the track and got a feather’s edge. Tom Blundell did the rest as the umpire gave it not out. Kiwis used their last review which came out in their favor much to the disappointment of Pant. 

Ashwin’s arrival to the wicket was the last hope for India as his experience was the key. Washington Sundar who looked busy before the lunch break suddenly went into a shell. With singles and two’s, the Tamil Nadu duo were chipping away at the target. New Zealand though kept the pressure on the batters with Ajaz Patel in particular being the tormentor in chief. 

With each passing moment and run being scored the game started to go down to the wire. Ashwin nearly inside edged the ball back onto his stumps and tried to prevent the ball from dislodging the bails. Some luck smiled on India as the bails didn’t fall off much to the amazement of the Kiwi players. 

Glenn Phillips the broke the 26-run stand when Ashwin went for a reverse sweep and saw the ball hit the glove. It was all over for India with just Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj left in the hut. Washington Sundar for the second time in the game was left-stranded as New Zealand won the game by 25 runs as Ajaz Patel picked 6 in the 2nd innings with Sundar being his last wicket.