Head coach Gautam Gambhir with Rohit Sharma after New Zealand beat India in the second Test in Pune to clinch a historic Test series after seven decades. | Photo Credit: AP
Skipper Rohit Sharma opted not to put the batters in the cosh for the series defeat against New Zealand but warned that they must “trust the plan” to succeed against a tough opponent.
New Zealand beat India by 113 runs in the second Test to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series.
It was India’s first Test series defeat at home since 2012-13 when they lost to England 1-2.
IND vs NZ second test: Day 3 in pictures, 26 October 2024
New Zealand players celebrate after winning the second Test against India in Pune on October 26, 2024.
Captain Rohit Sharma and New Zealand captain Tom Latham shake hands after New Zealand won the second cricket test in Pune on October 26, 2024.
Captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir looked sad after New Zealand beat India in the second Test in Pune. It was India’s first Test series loss in 12 years.
New Zealand cricket made history on Indian soil by winning the Test series after seventy years. India lost their first Test series at home after 12 years.
New Zealand’s standout player was Mitchell Santner who took 13 wickets in the match and played a useful knock in the first innings.
After being dismissed from the top order, Ravindra Jadeja played one-handed and became the last batsman to be dismissed as India were bundled out for 245 in the second innings.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal played well in the second innings but it was not enough for Team India as they lost Mitchell Santner.
Captain Rohit Sharma could not fire in both the innings as he failed miserably as he got out for 0 and 8 in the match.
Virat Kohli failed to show his class in both innings as he lost to Mitchell Santner’s guile in both innings of the second Test
Ravindra Jadeja did well on day three by picking up 3 wickets in the morning session to restrict New Zealand to 255 in the second innings.
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IND vs NZ second test: Day 2 in pictures, 25 October 2024
New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner proved to be a nemesis for the Indian batsmen as he claimed seven wickets in the first innings and his efforts saw India dismissed for 156, in Pune on October 25, 2024.
Virat Kohli was dismissed by Mitchell Santner for 1 in the second Test in Pune.
Mitchell Santner bowled brilliantly as he dismissed Akash Deep on day 2 of the second Test in Pune.
Ravindra Jadeja became the top scorer for India in the first innings of the second Test. Jadeja scored 38 for a total score of 156.
New Zealand players celebrate the wicket of Rishabh Pant on day 2 of the second Test in Pune.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham scored a brilliant 86 to take New Zealand past 300.
New Zealand’s Tom Blundell is not out in 30 and is expected to take the Kiwis past 350.
After taking seven wickets in the first innings, Washington Sundar took four wickets in the second innings of New Zealand.
New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra is dismissed by Washington Sundar. Ravindra was bowled by Sundar in both the innings.
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IND vs NZ second test: Day 1 in pictures, 24 October 2024
Washington Sunday, playing in his fifth Test, took a career-best 7 for 59 and bowled out New Zealand for 259 in the first innings of the second Test at Pune on 24 October 2024.
Washington Sundar was embraced by captain Rohit Sharma after his career-best 7-wicket haul in the first innings against New Zealand in the second Test in Pune.
After winning the toss, the New Zealand opener gave the team a quiet start when Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Tom Latham in Pune.
After Tom Latham’s dismissal, New Zealand’s other opener Devon Conway played well with a score of 76. He was also dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin.
Continuing his good form from the first Test, New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra played a brilliant 65 but he was dismissed by Washington Sundar.
New Zealander Will Young became Ravichandran Ashwin’s third wicket in the first innings of the second Test in Pune.
Rachin Ravindra celebrated his fiftieth birthday and was congratulated by Daryl Mitchell.
New Zealand’s Tom Blundell was bowled by the beauty of Washington Sundar on day 1 of the second Test in Pune.
Another beauty from Washington Sundar ended Ajaz Patel’s stay
After dismissing New Zealand for 259, India started on a false note with Rohit Sharma dismissed for 0. Tim Southee was the wicket-taker. Rohit, who was cleaned up for the third time in the series and second by Southee.
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“I don’t doubt anyone’s ability. I won’t do much postmortem of this, but the batters have to come with plans and believe in the plans like the New Zealand batters showed,” Rohit said during the post-match press conference.
“It was disappointing. It wasn’t what we expected. We have to give credit to New Zealand because they played better than us. We failed to respond to the challenge.” Then Rohit touched on the batting damage part in detail.
“I don’t think we batted well enough to get runs on the board. You have to pick 20 wickets to win, yes, but the batters have to run on the boards.
“It was a good fight to restrict it to 250-odd (in the first innings) but we knew it would be a challenge. It’s not a field where a lot happens. It was a bit close in the first innings,” he said.
Despite losing the series, Rohit is promising a better show in the third Test in Mumbai in a few days.
“We want to perform well at Wankhede and try and win the Test. It was a collective failure. I am not one to blame only the batters or the bowlers. Wankhede,” he added.
The series loss also dented India’s chances of progressing to the final of the World Test Championship despite remaining at the top of the table.
Rohit accepted the consequences of a rare series defeat at home.
“I’m hurt because we lost that game. I can’t think about what’s ahead and it can affect our chances (WTC Final). We didn’t play well, and we lost the series and it hurts. There are things that we have to do as unit,” he said.
Published – 26 October 2024 17:40 IST
