The former opening batter of the Pakistan side, Ahmed Shehzad, has laughed at the performance of India during the first two games of the three-match Test series against New Zealand in Bengaluru and Pune. The Rohit Sharma-led side was destroyed by the pace bowling unit at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium before being blown away at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune against the spinners.
Winning the toss on a wet surface, which was under the covers for nearly four days, Rohit decided to bat first as they were bundled out for just 46 runs, which is the third-lowest innings total of the Blue Brigade in the longest format. Matt Henry and William O’Rourke demolished the batting department of the home side.
The bowling performance of the home side was again very poor as New Zealand batters came out aggressively to nail the spinners and pacers in all parts of the ground. Both the veteran spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja struggled in the contest, while the left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav wasn’t consistent enough in the job.
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Even though India got a few wickets in the regular period, they weren’t able to get the upper hand of the visiting side, who got a huge lead of over 350 runs thanks to the eighth wicket stand between Tim Southee and Rachin Ravindra. The former celebrated a fine half-century, while the latter soaked the pressure at the earlier stage before smashing the century.
“Tigers on paper crumbled at home”- Ahmed Shahzad laughs at India
The former opener of the side, Ahmed Shahzad, during his YouTube video, has addressed the Blue Brigade as a strong side on paper but a weak side while facing the opponents.
“New Zealand have come to India and thrashed them as if they had the right to do so, beating them like kids and walking away. They have pulled a prank on India. People are now saying, ‘Kagaz ke sher, aur ghar mein dher. (Tigers at home, crumbled at home).’ The Lahore-born highlighted.
In the second innings of the first Test match in Bengaluru, India showed some character with the bat in hand, as their two veterans in the department, Rohit and Virat Kohli, cracked individual half-centuries before Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant put up a vital partnership for the fourth wicket. The former smashed a century while the wicket-keeper batter was dismissed on 99, unfortunately.
The target of 107 was never going to be enough for the home side, despite of them getting two early and quick wickets, as Ravindra and Will Young carried them over the line with eight wickets in hand.
The management decided to go with three spinners in the second contest on a slow and low turner, where they lost the toss and were asked to bat last in the game. Any chase was going to be a nightmare for the home side on that surface.
Both Ashwin and Jadeja again struggled with their line and length in the contest but the great bowling spell from Washington Sundar, who picked up seven wickets in the first innings, was able to keep the Kiwis at 259 in the first innings. However, another poor show with the bat from India delivered a lead of over 100 runs.
Pressure on the experienced spinners again to deliver for them, but they weren’t able to do so. India was given the task to chase their second-highest total at home in the fourth innings. Even though they started aggressively, it was too little before they were handed over a home series defeat after 12 years.