Ravindra Jadeja celebrates the dismissal of New Zealand batter Matt Henry.
| Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI

Ravindra Jadeja finds himself in an unchartered territory. Not when it comes to flummoxing the opposition batters with his accurate spin bowling but because of a series lost at home.

In India’s last series loss at home prior to this, Jadeja – a rookie – had featured in a solitary Test. No wonder then that despite picking his 14th five-wicket haul — 12th at home — Jadeja had something to rue about.

“I was scared of this. I didn’t want to lose a single series in India until I played, but it has happened. Whatever I think about, it happens suddenly,” Jadeja said after the opening day’s play here on Friday.

“We have raised our expectations so high that we have not lost a single series for 12 years, and in 12 years, I have been involved in only five losses at home. As a team, it is a lesson. We need to pick up positives from this.”

While Jadeja admitted that there was little time to process the batting meltdown towards the end of the day, stating “it all happened to quickly” he agreed that the state of mind of the players perhaps reflected in their decision-making.

“When you are down in the series and such a situation comes up, obviously it feels like if you are down 2-0 in the series, that’s why you panicked and you made a mistake,” Jadeja said.

But when you keep winning and when you are ahead 2-0, then everyone says, ‘It’s okay, it happens’. When you are down in the series, then such small thing always seems big.”

Mitchell Santner proved to be a thorn for the Indian batsmen as he once again struck telling blows and finished the match with a 13-wicket haul.
| Photo Credit: K. Bhagya Prakash

For the second time in three days – and the third time in four innings this series – India’s batters surrendered against a clinical New Zealand as the visiting side created history by taking an unassailable lead in the three-match series, mauling India by 113 runs.

Twenty-six minutes into the last hour of the third day at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium, with some of the 28,895 spectators who had turned up hoping against hope of an India turnaround, Tim Southee at long-on completed a clean catch to dismiss Ravindra Jadeja off Ajaz Patel and the New Zealand bunch burst into a prolonged bout of celebration.

After setting India a stiff target of 359, all it took for the Kiwi bowlers — led by the bespectacled Mitchell Santner — was 257 minutes and a little over 60 overs to wind up India’s second essay for 245.

Barring Yashasvi Jaiswal, who adopted an ultra-aggressive approach before being drawn forward and undone in flight by Santner, and Jadeja who prolonged the inevitable, no India batter could occupy the crease on a pitch that continued to aid the tweakers.

The Kiwi spinners – especially Santner – persisted with making India’s batters play by employing a stump-to-stump line. It paid dividend yet again as the Indian batters continued to be beaten on either side of the edge.

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Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj is under tremendous pressure to perform considering his poor form in home conditions. FIle
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma believes in consistency when it comes to team selection but he will have to take a leap of faith to retain speedster Mohammed Siraj in the playing eleven for the second Test against New Zealand considering his poor run in home conditions.

The match starts in Pune from October 24 and inclusion of spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar as the fifth slow bowler is an indication that coach Gautam Gambhir and Rohit might go for the jugular on a spin-friendly track.

The 30-year-old Hyderabadi has so far taken 80 wickets in 30 Test matches but 61 of those scalps have come in 17 away Test matches in three of the SENA countries (South Africa, England, Australia).

Only 19 wickets after bowling 192.2 overs in 13 home Tests are figures that imply that Siraj has struggled in sub-continental conditions unlike Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who have had the ability to throw pitch and conditions out of equation.

To be fair to Siraj, in those 13 Tests, he went wicket-less in four with a couple of them against Australia last year played on rank turners in Indore and Delhi where he got to bowl only 10 and six overs respectively.

But what has been disappointing is that the last seven home Tests have yielded only 12 wickets for him which is less than two per match.

Also, he hasn’t been consistent enough to get initial breakthroughs leaving Bumrah with all the heavy-lifting to do with the new ball.

PTI spoke to a coach, who has worked extensively with some of the current national team bowlers, and he thinks that Siraj’s length is erroneous for Indian conditions. He explained the technical flaw that has cropped up in his bowling.

“If you see Siraj’s record, he has five-wicket hauls in Australia and South Africa where there is more bounce. The six to eight metre length away from the batter is considered to be ideal Test match length. But it varies from country to country depending on the bounce,” the coach, who was a top domestic performer during his time, told PTI on condition of anonymity.

“The ideal length in Australia is eight metres, it is around six metres in England and on low bounce Indian wickets, it is 6.5 metres. If you pitch it around 6.5 metres and get movement, you are in business for both outside edge, bowled and leg before.

“Siraj is bowling around eight metre length and in India with that length, you can’t hit top of off (stump). He isn’t pitching it up enough,” he further explained.

However, the coach is confident that once Siraj goes Down Under, for the five-match series starting November 22, he will again find his mojo as the length. which he is hitting here, will work like magic in those conditions.

“When you are hitting eight metre length on Indian tracks which are devoid of pace, the batter has more time to gauge the line and it becomes hittable.

“I am not sure how effective he will be in Pune or Mumbai although latter was the only venue where he looked menacing against New Zealand in 2021. Problem is when you play white ball, this back of length in Indian conditions can still fetch you wickets,” he reasoned.

India loosened their grip somewhat but continued to lead the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, despite suffering an eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the three-match series opener in Dubai on Sunday (October 20, 2024). Photo: Wikipedia

India loosened their grip somewhat but continued to lead the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, despite suffering an eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the three-match series opener in Dubai on Sunday (October 20, 2024).

India’s percentage dropped to 68.06% after the humbling experience in Bengaluru, and they will now look to get their act together before the upcoming two Tests and the ensuing five-match series in Australia at the end of the year.

The Black Caps chased down their victory target of 107 with relative ease, with the win catapulting the side from sixth up to fourth on the updated standings with a win-loss percentage of 44.44%.

Reigning champions Australia and Sri Lanka are currently India’s closest challengers on the standings, with Pat Cummins’ side in second place on 62.50% and the island nation narrowly behind with 55.56% following their recent series sweep over New Zealand.

But New Zealand’s triumph over India has the Kiwis back in the running for a second appearance in the World Test Championship final, as they overtake England and South Africa to re-claim fourth position.

New Zealand host England for three Tests in November and December and may still be in contention for a top two finish on the standings with a pair of positive results from the remaining matches against India.

After bowling India out for a historic low of 46 on the first morning of the match, New Zealand piled up a massive 402 thanks largely to a Rachin Ravindra century (134) and a Tim Southee cameo (65) lower down the order.

India responded strongly in their second essay with Sarfaraz Khan (150) and Rishabh Pant (99) masterminding an excellent comeback, before the second new ball turned the match in New Zealand’s favour.

India’s captain Rohit Sharma walks towards the pavilion after the end of play on the second day of the first test cricket match between India and New Zealand, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, on October 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India captain Rohit Sharma was frank in his admission that he misjudged the nature of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch here. Rohit also said that he is “hurting a little bit” for having decided to bat first.

“We expected the pitch to be a little flatter. So clearly it was a misjudgment of the pitch. I did not read the pitch well enough, and now we sit in this situation,” Rohit said at the press conference after India was shot out for 46 on the first day of the Test against New Zealand on Thursday.

“I am hurting a little bit because I made that call. But as a team, we want to challenge ourselves. This time around, it didn’t come off. We got bowled out for 46. As a captain, it definitely hurts to see that number,” Rohit added.

On the inclusion of spinner Kuldeep Yadav at the expense of seamer Akash Deep, Rohit said, “We felt there was not much grass on the pitch. We added Kuldeep because he is bold on flat pitches and he has taken wickets.”

The Mumbai batter is hopeful that Rishabh Pant will recover quickly from the blow he received to the knee.

“Unfortunately, the ball hit his knee cap – the same leg which he had surgery earlier. He has a little bit of swelling, and the muscles are quite tender. It was a precautionary measure (to come off the field). Rishabh did not want to take a risk because he has gone through a massive surgery on that particular leg. Hopefully he can recover tonight and we will see him back on the field tomorrow,” Rohit said.

The captain defended the decision to send Virat Kohli in at one-drop. “After a long time, K.L. Rahul has found himself a place at number six. We want to make him bat there. The experienced players are the ones who have to take that extra responsibility. This time, it was Virat. We asked him whether he can bat at number three. He was ready,” Rohit said.

Captain Rohit Sharma is seen during a practice session on the eve of the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru on October 15, 2024.
| Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar

India Test captain Rohit Sharma threw his weight behind the four travelling reserves — Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.

The four cricketers could be taken to the five-Test series in Australia next month, Rohit said.

“The reason we wanted to keep them close to us was because we are thinking of taking them to Australia. We want to monitor them and see their workload. A lot of these guys have had injuries in the past, so it is important that we try and build them up. We want to create a group of fast bowlers where we have eight or nine options, not three or four options,” Rohit said at a press conference here on the eve of the first India-New Zealand Test.

Prasidh, however, bowled only eight overs for Karnataka in its Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh at Indore a few days ago.

Not rushing Shami

Rohit explained that it would be wrong to rush an injured Mohammed Shami into action. If he is not fully fit and ready for the rigours of red-ball cricket, Shami will not travel to Australia, Rohit said.

“It is very difficult for us to make a call on him (Shami). He recently had a setback. He had a swelling in his knee, which was quite unusual. Just when he was getting close to 100 per cent fitness, he had this swelling. That has put him back a little bit in his recovery,” Rohit said.

“He is working with the physios and doctors at NCA. We want him to be 100 percent fit. We don’t want to bring an undercooked Shami to Australia. That will not be the right decision. He has not played cricket for a year. It is quite tough for a fast bowler (to return to action), having missed so much cricket.

“We want to give him enough time to recover. He is supposed to play a couple of games before he plays international cricket. We will see where he is at after this New Zealand series, and then take a call at what stage of the Australia tour he will be fit.”

Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was named the vice-captain of the Indian team for the three-match Test series against New Zealand.
| Photo Credit: Sandeep Saxena

Ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was on Friday (October 11, 2024) named vice-captain of India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against New Zealand, starting in Bengaluru on Wednesday (October 16, 2024).

The move could indicate that Bumrah is being groomed to lead the team in Rohit Sharma’s absence, as there was no designated vice-captain during the recent two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

The squad has been reduced to 15, with uncapped left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who was part of the Bangladesh Test series, missing out after sustaining a shoulder injury during Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy match against Bengal in Lucknow.

Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mayank Yadav and Prasidh Krishna were named as travelling reserves.

India’s squad for the New Zealand Test series:

Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep.

New Zealand have roped in former pacer Jacob Oram as their bowling coach ahead of the gruelling three-Test away series against India, a much-anticipated showdown in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

New Zealand have roped in former pacer Jacob Oram as their bowling coach ahead of the gruelling three-Test away series against India, a much-anticipated showdown in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle.

The imposing right-arm pacer, who will take charge on October 7, has played three Cricket World Cups and four T20 World Cups and brings a wealth of experience to the Blackcaps coached by Gary Stead.

New Zealand will play the first match of the series against India in Bengaluru from October 16-20, followed by Tests in Pune (October 24-28) and Mumbai (November 1-5).

Oram, 46, was the Blackcaps’ bowling coach during the recent T20 World Cup in the Americas and performed a similar role with the New Zealand’s women’s team during the World Cup on home soil in 2022.

“The 229-capped international officially joins the Blackcaps staff after supporting the team as bowling coach in last year’s Test tour to Bangladesh, February’s T20I series at home against Australia, along with the recent ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies,” said New Zealand Cricket in a statement.

New Zealand have a good chance of securing a World Test Championship final berth for the second time in three editions as they are currently placed third behind leaders India and Australia with 50 percentage points.

“To be back involved with a team that means so much to me and has been a big part of my life is a real honour,” said Oram, who has more than 250 scalps across formats and has played 33 Tests, 160 ODIs and 36 T20Is in his 11-year-long international career.

“The recent opportunities I’ve had have been a great insight into where this team is going and I’m excited to continue that work in the coming seasons.

“There’s a fresh new wave of talent coming through in the Blackcaps bowling ranks and I hope that I can share my knowledge and experience to help best prepare them for the challenges of international cricket.” Head coach Stead said Oram will bring his years of experience to the side during this crucial phase.

“Jake’s (Oram) a great operator. His career as a player and his experiences as a coach speak for themselves.

“He brings a deep understanding of the international game, but also experience in franchise cricket which will be worthwhile in understanding the modern player and the changing landscape of the modern game,” added Stead.