Mumbai
India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, attributed the rising trend of teams losing at home in Test matches to the added pressure of World Test Championship (WTC) points and the aggressive influence of T20 cricket. On Thursday, Gambhir explained that the WTC has made every Test match important, with no ‘dead rubbers’ left, as teams now play for every point. He also noted that T20 cricket has raised the quality of batting and shot-making, leading to more result-oriented games and fewer drawn matches.
India is set to face New Zealand in the third Test at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, down 0-2 in the series after suffering their first home series loss in 12 years. India aims to avoid a whitewash with a strong performance, as they fell in the first two Tests due to New Zealand’s consistent batting and India’s struggles against spin.
In the second Test, New Zealand posted 259 in their first innings with half-centuries from Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. Washington Sundar’s 7/59 limited New Zealand’s total, but India replied with only 156, despite Ravindra Jadeja’s top score of 38. New Zealand’s Tom Latham scored 86 in their second innings, pushing India to chase 359. Despite Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fighting 77, India was bowled out for 245, losing by 114 runs.
The final match will be an opportunity for India to restore pride and earn crucial WTC points in the series finale.
