New Zealand defeated India by 113 runs in the second Test in Pune to take a 2-0 lead in the three-match series. This ended India’s record of 18 consecutive home series wins in the longest format of the game, and captain Rohit Sharma was hurt.
Rohit and Virat Kohli have been off-color in the five-day cricket. In the second Test, Rohit scored a duck and 8 runs across both innings. Virat managed just 1 and 17 in the Pune Contest.
Earlier, Rohit amassed 2 and 52 in the Bengaluru game, while Kohli accumulated 0 and 70.
Virat and Rohit have become walking wickets in the red-ball format, and their problems don’t seem to end. After playing the final game against New Zealand in Mumbai, India will travel to Australia for five matches.
Meanwhile, Sanay Manjrekar has warned Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Their form is a cause of concern for the team. However, they will encounter different challenges in Australia,” he said on ESPNcricinfo. The defeat was Rohit’s fourth in 15 games at home as a captain.
Mitchell Santner was the difference between the two sides. He took 13 wickets and was named the Player of the Match. His 13/157 is the third-best match figure by a Kiwi bowler. It is the third-best figure for any team in a Test against India and also the third-best by a visiting bowler in India.
Rohit was disappointed with the outcome: “I am disappointed and hurt. We are not expecting this kind of result, but credit goes to New Zealand for the way they played throughout the game. We had chances but failed to capitalise on them. We failed to respond to challenges thrown at us by New Zealand. We didn’t bat well.”
Related