Even the most steadfast critics could not have predicted India’s dramatic fall from grace, as Rohit Sharma’s team found themselves trailing three Tests to none against a visiting New Zealand squad on home ground. Entering the series with a slight dent in their aura of home invincibility—having dropped two Tests on Indian soil in the last two years compared to a mere two in the preceding decade—the challenge was clear. Yet, the blend required to topple India’s ship was nothing short of a perfect storm: luck, tactical brilliance, and sheer grit. New Zealand proved to be the ideal adversary.
The ramifications of this home defeat mirror the transitional phase during the 2012/13 season, potentially indicating that another generational shift could be on the horizon for India. The team concluded their domestic World Test Championship (WTC) leg with a split record of six victories and four losses, keeping their dreams of a third consecutive final hanging by a thread.
With the shock of this reversal fading, attention turns to the nuances of India’s Test cricket performance that need critical introspection before the next home series.
**Do Result-Oriented Pitches Undermine India’s Strengths?**
A significant change ushered in by the WTC format is the strategic use of result-oriented pitches by teams keen on maximizing home game points. Consequently, only 12.6% of Tests under the WTC umbrella have concluded in draws—a stark contrast to the 10% stalemate rate observed at the start of the millennium.
India’s initial WTC cycle (2019-21) featured pitches favoring seamers, relegating spinners to secondary roles, as observed in series against South Africa and Bangladesh in 2019. However, the pandemic and mid-stream changes in qualification criteria saw India revert to turners against England in 2021, a series necessary to secure their finals berth. Faced with a mountain of runs by Joe Root post-toss, India resorted to preparing turning tracks to nullify the toss advantage.
This approach has lingered, with India resorting to tracks with substantial turn whenever favorable outcomes were needed—despite the risk of their own aging batsmen faltering. Illustrative cases include New Zealand holding firm for a narrow draw at Kanpur in 2021, which prompted India to respond with a heavily turning Wankhede pitch leading to a spinner-dominated 33 out of 36 wickets. Following a series loss in South Africa (2021/22), India unleashed another turner against Sri Lanka to boost their WTC points tally.
The recent Australia series last year witnessed spinner-dominant pitches followed by a more batting-friendly surface at Ahmedabad when only a draw was required to secure finals entry. In the latest series, weather in Bengaluru initially altered pitch behavior, prompting turner pitches in Pune and Mumbai as ripostes to defeat.
A common thread in India’s home defeats since 2021, except for the Bengaluru Test, is the superior performance of visiting spinners who outshone India’s renowned spin attack.
. Often extreme pitch conditions narrowed the quality gap between India’s seasoned spinners and the less decorated bowlers from touring sides. Indian spinners averaged 25.37 between 2016 and 2019 while the visiting spinners’ average was a daunting 52.68. This gap narrowed significantly after 2021, with home spinners improving to an average of 20.20 and visitors closing in at 32.42.
In contrast to the formidable challenges posed by bowlers like Shane Warne in 2004 and Graeme Swann in 2012, the trio of Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner, and Glenn Phillips boasted only 146 wickets in 55 Tests at the series’ start. Nonetheless, their effectiveness on turning tracks was palpable, exploiting India’s right-hand dominant top order.
**Batting Strategy Missteps on Turning Tracks**
Rohit Sharma’s candid reflection on his season’s lackluster batting—scoring a mere 133 runs in ten innings—highlights issues within India’s approach against New Zealand. The strategy seemed to neglect spending adequate time in defense—a critical element in building resilience at the crease on spin-friendly surfaces, as indicated by Player of the Series, Will Young’s meticulous and slow-paced play.
The perceived inevitability of being undone by a vicious turning ball seemed to have influenced Indian batsmen like Sarfaraz Khan to resort to aggressive tactics as a breather. However, while this approach paid off in less testing conditions, it faltered in others, suggesting an underlying lack of confidence in foundational defensive technique.
**Fielding Strategies and Spin Support: A Necessary Rethink**
Spin-friendly tracks amplify the impact of coin tosses, as pitches depreciate batting quality progressively. New Zealand capitalized on this, securing advantageous innings with early runs—197/3 in Pune and 159/3 in Mumbai—thereby pressurizing India into a catch-up position.
Predictably, Indian fields set against New Zealand’s proficient strategy played into their hands. The Kiwi batsmen exploited finesse in stroke play and frequent singles, maintaining an upper hand by refusing to let Indian spinners establish rhythm.
In stark contrast to England’s boundary-focused aggression pacified by India’s in-out fields earlier this year, New Zealand’s strategy of minimizing risk through strategic singles put India’s plan back to drawing boards. By rotating strike more effectively, New Zealand set a benchmark for fielding strategy adjustments India ought to consider ahead of their next home assignment.