Mumbai : Former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble has said that there is something wrong with Indian batters' play against spin and the team needs to sit down and introspect.
Indian team succumbed as the spin duo of Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips spun New Zealand to a 25-run win over India in the third Test at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, handing the hosts their first-ever series whitewash at home in a Test series of three or more matches.
Speaking on JioCinema, Kumble said that the batters failed to make any adjustments against spin.
"This has consistently happened over the last three Test matches. Whenever the spinners come on, there hasn't been a noticeable improvement from one game to the next. A couple of players have made certain adjustments, which has helped in the batting lineup, but collectively, as a batting unit, they haven't been able to avoid those collapses. This has happened far too often in a single session, which is a concern," said Kumble.
"For this lineup to say, 'There's nothing wrong'--I think there's something seriously wrong here. The most challenging part is accepting that there's a problem. I'm sure that when this Indian team sits down to introspect, they'll recognize that there is indeed a serious issue that needs to be addressed," he added.
Kumble said that while Kiwi spinner Ajaz Patel was expected to be dangerous, what was surprising was the support he got from part-time spinner Glenn Phillips, who took eight wickets in the series.
"I thought he bowled very well, sticking to disciplined areas. Of course, they were under pressure when Rishabh Pant was at the crease, but outside of that, New Zealand seemed confident that if they could dismiss (Rishabh) Pant, they would have a strong chance. And that is exactly how it played out," he concluded.
The entire series was full of collapses for Team India. While in the first Test at Bengaluru, India was skittled out for just 46 runs after electing to bat first on a pace friendly wicket in overcast conditions and in the next innings, they faced another batting collapse just after getting a lead, giving NZ a target of just 107 runs.
In the second Test, India did bundle out Kiwis for 259 in the first innings, but themselves faced another poor batting outing to be all out for 156 runs. Later, while chasing 359 runs, Indian stars dissappointed once again, skittling out for 245 runs after being 127/2 at one point.
In the third and final Test in Mumbai, it was another low-scoring affair and India was presented it with perhaps its easiest chase of the series: 147 runs. However, except for a fighting fifty from Rishabh Pant, the Indian batting fell like a pack of cards and was bundled out for 121 runs.
The trauma of losing a Test series by a whitewash at home, sliding down to second place in World Test Championship (WTC) table could very well fire up Indian team for being at their best during the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
The Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia will begin on November 22, with the first Test at Perth.
The second Test, scheduled for December 6 to 10 at Adelaide Oval, will feature the exciting day-night format under the stadium's lights. After that, fans will turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test, which will be held from December 14 to 18.
The customary Boxing Day Test, set for December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's storied Melbourne Cricket Ground, will bring the series to its penultimate stage.
The fifth and final Test, to take place at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, will serve as the series climax, promising a dramatic conclusion to an exciting contest.
India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.