NZ tour of India 2024 - 3 Tests

[icyman]

Ticking time bomb this! Well done New Zealand- all it required was mere common sense! They exploited the weaknesses of our unit and collectively fired on all cylinders. India were poor throughout. The players were out of form- perhaps there was a feeling- we have won the WT20, now we are done!

In addition to the players, one needs to look the BCCI's scheduling as well. This is a domino effect that will get highlighted if they do a post-mortem of the entire series here. India are certainly playing too many games. There's no succession planning in place and no one know who are the next rung of players that be counted upon. Selection isn't horses for courses, but definitely needs to be on those lines.

In the end, NZ won 3-0. They played well, not exceptional, but well! India were poor! This series probably was the last one for a few players and I would be happy if the think tank now focuses upon blooding in new players- come what the results!

Goes to show how much of an impact the lower order runs were in the scheme of things. They were masking inefficiency of our top and middle order on a significant level.

Been saying this for some time now. The trend has been prevalent since the time of Shastri- since Vikram Rathour took over. It has been masked to a large extent due to the presence of an innings of individual brilliance- Jurel, Ashwin, thakur come the to fore when it comes to lower order runs. There's also an invincibility factor that seems to be doing the rounds- Indians are good players of spin. I have highlighted earlier in the thread- we arent.

I just shudder to think of the scenario had this team played the likes of Warne, Murali, Saqlain....careers would have been over long long ago!

Now looking to the future- The realistic target for the BGT should be to win atleast 1 test- Melbourne or Sydney is the most likely one. Had the bowling been bolstered by the presence of Shami, I would have said 2 test matches, but it isnt to be. There's a lot of clamour for Pujara and Rahane to come back and I feel it might not be a bad idea to work around these two for a year. Gambhir alluded to the art of staying at the crease for longer durations and that needs to be imbibed in the batsmen somehow. If we go hammer and tongs, it is not going to work.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

Trans - A friend says that Rahul is not getting abused, so he is not feeling defeated.

Lol

 

[blockerdave]

I cannot think of a better, more surprising series win.

 

[Fenil]

KL Rahul is a possibility to replace Safraz at number 6

No please. He has been a fantastic ODI batsman in the middle order but let's keep him away from the Test team until he piles up runs in the domestic.

I also feel that Rahane is done and dusted which is saddening as he averaged a whopping 67 in FC when he burst into the scene. Always thought him and Pakistan's Asad Shafique had a lot to offer but both left a lot to desire at the Test level.

Sarfaraz is a bright prospect but he needs to be told that not every time should he resort to slambang cricket particularly when he is not experienced enough to improvise unlike Pant (in Test matches). Pant though looks rash does wait for the balls to fall into his strong area which is what Sarfaraz needs to learn. Once he does that, runs will come.

Pujara (scored 234 few days ago) and Vihari (averages 51 in 120+ FC matches with 74 fifty plus scores including triple hundred and is a handy bowler like Phillips) are a must at this stage to salvage some respect.

Siraj has gone from bad to worse. Maybe he needs to consult with coach or even try a stint at MRF pace academy. The way he has been bowling, India were better off playing Kuldeep or Axar in place of him.

Shami's absence in the Australia series would be a big blow. Akashdeep is the only positive I could find besides Gill's one off innings from this series.

Are there any more good domestic middle order batsmen coming through who can be tried at #5/6 in Tests? Jurel as a specialist bat would be too much, isn't it?