Virat Kohli was one of the worst performers for India in Pune Test© BCCI/Sportzpics
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed dissapointment with Team India's batting during their shambolic loss to New Zealand in the second Test at Pune, which led to the hosts' first-ever series loss at home in 12 years. Indian batters got the taste of their own medicine as the Kiwi spin attack led by Mitchell Santner, who took 13 wickets in the match, trapped the hosts in their own spin trap and defeated India by 113 runs to secure the series 2-0 with a game to go.
Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said that he felt India could pull off a surprise when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill had a partnership going on but remarked that the latter does not have a "feel for spinners" and feels pressure while playing them on turning pitches.
"When Yashasvi and Shubman were going together, I thought that there would be a surprise around the corner. Shubman Gill clearly does not have the feel for spinners. You know batters, who can work with their footwork instinctively, he clearly is under pressure when he is playing spinners on turning pitches," Manjrekar said.
Manjrekar also said that star batter Virat Kohli once again misread the length of Santner's delivery and skipper Rohit Sharma felt underconfident on the crease against spin. He feels that the top three of India's top four are short of confidence against spin. He feels India should have backed their defence more and not lost early wickets.
"Virat Kohli once again misread the length. The ball was much fuller than he anticipated and came back into him sharply. Rohit Sharma was not confident at the crease. There are a lot of guys, top 3 out of 4 who are short of confidence against spin. On pitches like these, you see that it is difficult to bat vs spin in first session and a half. I think that if India backed their defence a little more, things could have gotten easier. If India had not lost too many wickets earlier, this game could have been much closer with Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja being around," he said.
Coming to the match, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. Half-centuries from Devon Conway (76 in 141 balls, with 11 fours) and Rachin Ravindra (65 in 105 balls, with five fours and a six) placed Kiwis in a strong position at 197/3, with Ravichandran Ashwin (3/41) being the only one to have made some dents into the batting. Floodgates opened for wickets after Conway's dismissal, with comeback man Washington Sundar (7/59) getting the remaining wickets to get NZ to 259 all out.
India was tasked to overcome this rather modest total and gain a sizeable lead. After skipper Rohit Sharma's dismissal for a duck, youngsters Shubman Gill (30 in 72 balls, with two fours and a six) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (30 in 60 balls, with four boundaries) tried forming a partnership. However, their effort was cut short at 49 runs. Just like the first innings, dismissal of a set Gill paved way for Mitchell Santner to run through the Indian line up. Santner (7/53) and Glenn Phillips (2/26) made Indian batters dance to their tunes on their own pitches, skittling them out for just 156 runs. Ravindra Jadeja top-scored with 38 in 46 balls, with three fours and two sixes.
Kiwis got themselves in a commanding position in their second innings. Led by skipper Tom Latham's 86 in 133 balls, with 10 fours and some important contributions from Phillips (48 in 82 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and Tom Blundell (41 in 83 balls, with three fours), Kiwis increased their 103-run first inning lead to a lead of 358 runs, being skittled out for 255 after some fine bowling on first session of day three by spinners.
Sundar (4/56) once again lead the bowling from the front, with Jadeja (3/72) and Ravichandran Ashwin (2/97) wiping the lower-middle order and tail.
In the chase of 359, India got a fine start from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who stitched a valuable 62-run stand with Shubman Gill (23 in 31 balls, with four boundaries). However, after Jaiswal's dismissal for 77 in 65 balls, with nine fours and three sixes, India never recovered, falling a prey to Kiwi spinners and bundled out for 245, losing the test by 113 runs. With this India also registered its first home series loss in 12 years.
Santner (6/104) was once again the star, taking 13 wickets in the match, with Phillips (two wickets) and Ajaz (one wicket) also offering some support to end the Test two days early.
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