India vs New Zealand 2nd Test: Three Reasons Why India Lost Match and Series

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The streak is over! India have lost their first home Test series in 12 years. India won back-to-back 18 Test series at home since March 2013. New Zealand defeated them by 113 runs in the second Test to end the streak which lasted for 4331 days.

India have received a proper hammering in the first two Test matches, and Tom Latham's New Zealand would now definitely be eyeing for a clean sweep in Mumbai. It's all very surprising as India were being considered the favourites after the 2-0 demolition of Bangladesh.

They sealed a win in the second Test in Kanpur despite just 35 overs of play in the first three days. India batters and bowlers were on fire, and they were being backed for an equally good show against the Kiwis. New Zealand were whitewashed 2-0 in Sri Lanka, and that further increased the belief that they will struggle big time in India.

However, the narrative changed on the first day of the series-opener, and two weeks later India have conceded a 2-0 unassailable lead. Rohit Sharma admitted that he read the pitch and conditions wrongly in Bengaluru, but what about the Pune defeat? Let's have a look at three reasons why India lost the second Test against New Zealand in Pune.

Struggle against spin is real: "I think it is a misconception around the world now that these modern Indian players are better playing spin than anyone else. They are not. They are the same as everyone else around the world," Simon Doull said on JioCinema during the lunch break on Day 2.

"Gone are the days of Ganguly, Gambhir, Laxman and Dravid. Sachin was so, so good against spin, and the era before them," he added.

The comment sums up India's struggle against spin. Mitchell Santner, the New Zealand left-arm spinner, played the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in September and managed to pick one wicket in the match. The same match saw left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya pick nine wickets including a five-wicket haul in the second innings.

In the second Test he went wicketless as Sri Lanka Jayasuriya picked nine wickets including a six-wicket haul. Off-spinner Nishan Peiris also picked nine wickets including six wickets in the second innings.

However, Santner looked a different beast in the second Test against India. He picked 13 wickets - seven in the first innings, and six in the second. The figures of 13/157 is third-best by a visiting bowler in India. It was Santner's first 10-wicket haul in a Test match.

India batters struggled big time against the Kiwi. Virat Kohli was dismissed for a full toss. Even part-timer Glenn Phillips was breathing down the neck of the India batters. He removed Yashasvi Jasiwal and Rishabh Pant in the first innings, and Washington Sundar in the second.

The pitch conundrum: Ravi Shastri once famously said take the pitch out of the equation and the Indian Test team became a force to reckon with. The Virat Kohli era in which Shastri was the head coach, saw India achieve Test wins which looked unimaginable once.

Home teams have always got the pitch prepared to suit their needs. Rahul Dravid would also go straight to the stadiums from the airport to have a look at the pitch and talk to the curators. The results would come in favour of India.

But India failing twice in succession in their own trap is a concern. Rohit Sharma paid a big price for 'pitch curating' in the final of ODI World Cup 2023, and he should have learnt from it. India lost the toss and Australia made merry after reading the conditions better than India.

In Bengaluru Rohit made the blunder of opting to bat first in overcast conditions. India were bundled out for 46 in the first innings. A spin paradise was prepared in Pune and New Zealand ended winning the toss and batting first. India forgot that other teams also have world-class spinners, and also that the Indian batting unit is not very comfortable against quality spin now.

India should shift their focus from the pitch, and instead focus on getting rid of their weaknesses.

Poor form of the seniors: When exit doors have been shown to seniors Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, it's important that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma take the onus on them to anchor the innings.

The next generation of Indian Test batters - Yashasvi Jasiwal, Shubman Gill and Sarafaraz Khan are a work-in-progress, and it's important one of the two stick around them for a longer duration.

Also, Ravichandran Ashwin failed to live up to his expectations for the second time in a row. Washington Sundar, was playing his first Test match in more than three years and managed to bag 11 wickets in the match, but Ashwin was unimpressive again, especially in the second innings in which he picked two wickets including one of tail-ender Tim Southee.

Ashwin's ineffectiveness should be noted at a time when Kiwi spinners looked like picking a wicket on every delivery, and a 13-year younger teammate from his home state looked far more impressive than him. Pressure on New Zealand batters from both the ends could have changed the complexion of the game. Rohit's defensive captaincy was under the scanner as Ashwin leaked runs at a high economy rate, but the bowling from the veteran spinner also wasn't such that a handful of close-in fielders could be deployed for him.