It’s 12:23 pm on a Sunday afternoon in Mumbai. Everything is about as normal as it can be outside the Wankhede Stadium, but inside, over 20,000 people are observing silence while staring at the giant screen.It’s tough to determine if Rishabh Pant is ‘out’ or ‘not out’ at this point. The sun’s glare makes it difficult, but they begin to chant, “Not out! Not out!” Pant, meanwhile, has walked over to the umpires, hoping this animated chat will somehow convince TV umpire Paul Reiffel to stick with the on-field umpire’s ‘not out’ decision.The screen turns red. Ajaz Patel (6/57) is swamped by his mates. Pant can’t believe his situation-defying 64 would end like this. The crowd groans. It then begins to chant, “Cheaters! Cheaters!”Unfortunate as that was, New Zealand silenced them soon enough because exactly forty minutes from that controversial dismissal, the crowd was headed for the exits. The Test match was done. New Zealand had won.At 1:03 pm on a Sunday afternoon in Mumbai, India suffered their first-ever whitewash at home in a three-Test series after going down by 25 runs. They have suffered a sweep in the past when they went down to South Africa in 2000, but that was only a two-Test series. This, a 3-0 loss, is thereby a new low for Indian cricket.How did a side go from winning 18 consecutive series at home to not being able to score 147 runs in a chase on a surface they used to call home? How the mighty have fallen!Sure, Bengaluru was hard. Sure, Pune was hard. But that was down to how they bungled up their first innings. Not that that makes for a good excuse, but they were chasing New Zealand the whole time, so you can assume it was harder on the mind.Here, India were ahead. They lost a good toss, but they restricted New Zealand to 235, then scored 263, and then reduced New Zealand to 174 with Ravindra Jadeja’s second fifer in the game. All India had to do was score 147 runs with three whole days left to save face.Then, Rohit Sharma chooses the wrong ball for the pull and gets caught at midwicket. Mistake. Shubman Gill leaves the ball which lands just outside off-stump, only to see it come in with the arm and onto the stumps. Mistake. Virat Kohli looks to defend a ball that has his name on it (at this point it seems like all of them do) and nicks it to slip. Mistake. Yashasvi Jaiswal plays for turn when there is none, to get trapped in front of the stumps. Mistake. Sarfaraz Khan sweeps a full toss straight down Rachin Ravindra’s throat at deep square. Mistake.These errors meant India were down five wickets for 29 runs from 43 balls on a pitch that was only going to get worse for wear in this heat.Only, Pant took everything and everyone out of the equation. The left-hander was doing what he had done en route to his 60 in the first innings, but this 57-ball 64 was trickier because the pitch had gotten trickier. He picked apart the best bowler in this match—Ajaz (11/160)—with irrational ease, and Glenn Phillips was just fodder at this point.When he and Jadeja managed an essential 42-run alliance for the sixth wicket, and 71 for 5, it seemed like the drama would end. Little did anyone know then that it was only beginning. Jadeja would clip a ball onto the pads and get caught by Will Young at short leg. Thirty-five runs later, Pant would be given out.."A low point in my career": RohitOn November 19, 2023, India lost in the final of the 50-over World Cup to Australia. As heart-wrenching as that evening was, Rohit Sharma was not the only Indian skipper to suffer such a fate. Sourav Ganguly had in 2003. Misery does love company, but on November 3, 2024, Rohit wouldn’t have any such skipper of the past and their misfortunes to lean on because he became the first Indian captain to watch the side get swept 3-0 in a Test series at home.Sachin Tendulkar was at the helm when India went down 2-0 to South Africa at home in 2000, but this was different, not only because of the fact that they lost one more Test but also the way in which New Zealand beat them at their own game, in their own home.Rohit entered the post-match presser looking as disheartened as you would expect and took the blame for what is the most forgettable set of matches India have ever played at home. And to think he lifted the T20 World Cup only a few months ago.“Yeah, it is quite tough, and it tells you nothing is easy in life,” he stated when asked about the highs and lows of cricket. “One day you’re on high, one day you’re not. That is something I learned at a very young age about life, but this will be a very low point in my career. I fully take responsibility for that as a captain and as a leader as well. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat, I have not been good enough.”
It’s 12:23 pm on a Sunday afternoon in Mumbai. Everything is about as normal as it can be outside the Wankhede Stadium, but inside, over 20,000 people are observing silence while staring at the giant screen.It’s tough to determine if Rishabh Pant is ‘out’ or ‘not out’ at this point. The sun’s glare makes it difficult, but they begin to chant, “Not out! Not out!” Pant, meanwhile, has walked over to the umpires, hoping this animated chat will somehow convince TV umpire Paul Reiffel to stick with the on-field umpire’s ‘not out’ decision.The screen turns red. Ajaz Patel (6/57) is swamped by his mates. Pant can’t believe his situation-defying 64 would end like this. The crowd groans. It then begins to chant, “Cheaters! Cheaters!”Unfortunate as that was, New Zealand silenced them soon enough because exactly forty minutes from that controversial dismissal, the crowd was headed for the exits. The Test match was done. New Zealand had won.At 1:03 pm on a Sunday afternoon in Mumbai, India suffered their first-ever whitewash at home in a three-Test series after going down by 25 runs. They have suffered a sweep in the past when they went down to South Africa in 2000, but that was only a two-Test series. This, a 3-0 loss, is thereby a new low for Indian cricket.How did a side go from winning 18 consecutive series at home to not being able to score 147 runs in a chase on a surface they used to call home? How the mighty have fallen!Sure, Bengaluru was hard. Sure, Pune was hard. But that was down to how they bungled up their first innings. Not that that makes for a good excuse, but they were chasing New Zealand the whole time, so you can assume it was harder on the mind.Here, India were ahead. They lost a good toss, but they restricted New Zealand to 235, then scored 263, and then reduced New Zealand to 174 with Ravindra Jadeja’s second fifer in the game. All India had to do was score 147 runs with three whole days left to save face.Then, Rohit Sharma chooses the wrong ball for the pull and gets caught at midwicket. Mistake. Shubman Gill leaves the ball which lands just outside off-stump, only to see it come in with the arm and onto the stumps. Mistake. Virat Kohli looks to defend a ball that has his name on it (at this point it seems like all of them do) and nicks it to slip. Mistake. Yashasvi Jaiswal plays for turn when there is none, to get trapped in front of the stumps. Mistake. Sarfaraz Khan sweeps a full toss straight down Rachin Ravindra’s throat at deep square. Mistake.These errors meant India were down five wickets for 29 runs from 43 balls on a pitch that was only going to get worse for wear in this heat.Only, Pant took everything and everyone out of the equation. The left-hander was doing what he had done en route to his 60 in the first innings, but this 57-ball 64 was trickier because the pitch had gotten trickier. He picked apart the best bowler in this match—Ajaz (11/160)—with irrational ease, and Glenn Phillips was just fodder at this point.When he and Jadeja managed an essential 42-run alliance for the sixth wicket, and 71 for 5, it seemed like the drama would end. Little did anyone know then that it was only beginning. Jadeja would clip a ball onto the pads and get caught by Will Young at short leg. Thirty-five runs later, Pant would be given out.."A low point in my career": RohitOn November 19, 2023, India lost in the final of the 50-over World Cup to Australia. As heart-wrenching as that evening was, Rohit Sharma was not the only Indian skipper to suffer such a fate. Sourav Ganguly had in 2003. Misery does love company, but on November 3, 2024, Rohit wouldn’t have any such skipper of the past and their misfortunes to lean on because he became the first Indian captain to watch the side get swept 3-0 in a Test series at home.Sachin Tendulkar was at the helm when India went down 2-0 to South Africa at home in 2000, but this was different, not only because of the fact that they lost one more Test but also the way in which New Zealand beat them at their own game, in their own home.Rohit entered the post-match presser looking as disheartened as you would expect and took the blame for what is the most forgettable set of matches India have ever played at home. And to think he lifted the T20 World Cup only a few months ago.“Yeah, it is quite tough, and it tells you nothing is easy in life,” he stated when asked about the highs and lows of cricket. “One day you’re on high, one day you’re not. That is something I learned at a very young age about life, but this will be a very low point in my career. I fully take responsibility for that as a captain and as a leader as well. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat, I have not been good enough.”
