Former India batsman VVS Laxman hoped India must take the responsibility of the 0-2 loss in the Test series against New Zealand, saying he was glad to see the captain Virat Kohli accepting the defeat instead of giving some excuses. Kohli took responsibility and accepted that the team was outplayed.
“It was refreshing to hear Virat Kohli offer no excuses for the 2-0 loss in New Zealand and stress on acceptance of the outcome, but I hope India do address the issues that hurt them badly in probably one of their worst overseas outings of late,” Laxman wrote in his column for Times of India.
“The next Test series isn’t until December, so the temptation to write this off as a one-off could be overwhelming. But if India wants to avoid a repeat of this display in Australia later in the year, they can’t afford to gloss over what transpired in New Zealand,” he added.
India’s batting let them down as the team crossed 200 runs just once in four innings. However, their bowlers did well in respect to the batsmen.
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“I am sure the batting group would be hurting, especially, since they take a lot of pride in preparation but were caught napping by New Zealand’s game-plans for two Test matches in a row.” Laxman said.
“I agree the conditions were tricky and challenging, but that’s no reason why there shouldn’t have been a greater application from the batsmen. New Zealand’s plans were straightforward enough to get swing with the new ball and make use of the lateral movement and, should that fail to produce wickets, to resort to the liberal use of the short ball,” VVS Laxman further wrote.
“The other aspect that stood out was a repetition of mistakes from the same batsmen. Virat was trapped leg before to the ball coming in twice in the second Test, Mayank Agarwal fell in similar fashion in both innings in Christchurch to Trent Boult’s inswingers, Prithvi Shaw was cramped up and dismissed fending balls following him in the second innings of both Tests. Test cricket is an unforgiving cauldron where there is no room for tentativeness. India’s technical and mental frailties were badly exposed by a New Zealand side that looked out for the count during the T20s, but that knows how to win at home better than most other teams,” he again added.
He also explained how Ajinkya Rahane’s struggle in the second innings of the Christchurch cost India’s middle-order batting in front of New Zealand’s bowlers. Rahane found himself struggling against the likes of Neil Wager and Co where he scored a 43-ball 9.
“Ajinkya Rahane’s tortured stint in the second innings in Christchurch best illustrated India’s confusion. For an experienced and accomplished batsman who has scored runs all around the world, Rahane seemed all at sea against Neil Wagner and Kyle Jamieson’s short-ball barrage, and tried to hit his way out of trouble. On that surface, it was a method never designed to succeed,” he said.
