Straightway after their maiden whitewash in a three-match Test series at home, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar made his presence at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai as he was going through a lengthy chat with the head coach of the Blue Brigade Gautam Gambhir.
The Mumbai native wasted no time to take the report card of India from the head coach and the assistant coach, Abhishek Nayar. The discussions went on for such a long time. Even the experts Anil Kumble, the former head coach of the team, and Simon Doull, the former pacer of the side, talked about the potential disturbance because of the series defeat.
In just three weeks, India broke so many records, but all of them went against them. It started at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where they were blown away for just 46 runs in the first innings before the destructive pace bowling unit of the Tom Latham-led side. The Kiwis, after a wait of 36 years, celebrated their maiden Test victory in India.
The result of the first game means the management came up with a decision to produce a rank turner at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. The Indian batting line-up, consisting of Virat Kohli and their captain Rohit Sharma, hardly had any answer before the Mitchell Santner storm, who single-handedly carried them over the line with 13 wickets in the contest.
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Even in the Mumbai Test match, despite bundling out the visiting side for 235 in the first innings, India wasn’t able to get the upper hand in the encounter. Ajaz Patel displayed how weak the batting department of the home side has been over the last couple of years against the spinners.
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Agarkar and Gambhir spoke for nearly 15 minutes or more on the defeat. Both of them have plenty to answer before their upcoming acid Test in Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. One of the key topics around the batting collapses has been their inability to chase down low targets under the pressure of the fourth innings.
There were those days in the past when the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, or VVS Laxman used to be belting the quality spinners of the opponents. The likes of Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Saqlain Mushtaq were nailed around the ground by the former Indian batters.
The series defeat means that was the only time since 1969 when they have lost four Tests at home in a calendar year, as they lost the Hyderabad Test against England earlier this year.
India will make their trip to Australia for the upcoming five-match Test series of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, but the batter’s form has been a concern for the management, except for captain Rohit Sharma.
“It is a concern when seniors aren’t scoring runs. But what’s done is done. We have an opportunity to do something special in Australia. We’ll focus on that now.” The Nagpur-born was highlighted in the post-match press conference.
It hasn’t been a smooth start for Gambhir in the position as he looks to extend the legacy of Ravi Shastri and Rahul Dravid forward. The Indian captain has rightly backed their management and coaching staff for the future.
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“They have been good. They haven’t got a lot of time. It is the players’ responsibility to help them with results and to make sure we are aligned with their thought processes. Too early to judge anything.” The World Cup-winning captain concluded.
— Nihari Korma (@NihariVsKorma) November 3, 2024
The opening Test of the upcoming series will begin on November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.