New Zealand thrashed India by 113 runs in the second Test in Pune, sealing a historic series-clinching 2-0 victory on Saturday. It ended India’s record of 18 consecutive bilateral home series wins and Rohit Sharma was left extremely disappointed.
Particularly, senior players like Rohit and Virat Kohli were in patchy form and failed to impress. In the second Test, Rohit was dismissed for a nine-ball duck in the first innings, and had to depart for eight off 16 balls in the second. Meanwhile, Kohli registered one run off nine balls in the first innings, and was dismissed for 17 off 40 balls in the second innings.
Sanjay Manjrekar warns Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli
Speaking after the match, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar was asked if the pair’s form was a cause for concern ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, he said, “Yes, it is a cause for concern. But thankfully when they go there, the challenges will be different.”
The loss was also Rohit Sharma’s fourth defeat in 15 home Tests as captain, same as Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin (both in 20 Tests each), and only behind Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi’s nine (in 27 Tests).
The match also saw Mitchell Santner return with figures of 13/157 for New Zealand, which also became the third best match figures for a NZ bowler. It also became the third best match figures for any team vs India and also the third best match figures by a visiting bowler in India.
Speaking after the match, Rohit said, “Disappointing. It’s not what we expected. Got to give credit to NZ – they played better than us. We failed to capitalise on certain moments. We failed to respond to those challenges. And we sit here today. Didn’t think we batted well enough to get runs on the board.”
