Test series loss in NL: This shall hurt for long

A tour of New Zealand has never been a cakewalk for any Indian cricket team. It wasn’t any different this time. Wounds inflicted by the same Kiwis in the World Cup semifinal last year were still hurting as Virat Kohli’s men landed in Auckland on a warm January afternoon. ‘Revenge’ is a word which isn’t liked much by this outfit and was certainly not to be used against the genial and much-loved New Zealanders. However, the scores were to be settled, especially in the limited overs format.

Tests? Well, we are reigning No 1 since long so maybe wasn’t a huge cause for worry.

At least, many thought so.

The results proved to be opposite.

With the loss at the Basin Reserve and in Christchurch today, the World Test Championship has seen the mighty Indians fall for the first time.

Unlike the ODIs, skipper Kohli cannot term the Test series loss as irrelevant. Yes, this is the year of T20 World Cup but for the purists, such pounding of the world’s best team—the two-Test series was done and dusted in five days—is simply unacceptable.

“No excuses. We accept it upfront and if we have to win away from home, we have to do that. No excuses, just learning moving forward. In Tests, we weren’t able to play the cricket we wanted to,” said Kohli who himself has had a forgettable tour with the bat.

Perhaps, it was waiting to happen. For long, Virat singlehandedly carried the fortunes of the Indian team. Whenever his form plummeted, so did the fortunes of the team.

Swashbuckling batsman Virat having a disastrous tour can still be a one-off. But captain Virat may still have a lot of explaining to do. Not to the board but to the millions of fans of team India. Ditto for coach Ravi Shastri who has time and again labeled the present lot as the best ever.

A loss in T20s and the ODIs isn’t remembered much. But a Test series whitewash hurts, badly. We still remember the dribbling in England and Down Under in 2011, don’t we?

This too shall hurt for long. Even though serious cricket gives way to entertainment later this month. A tour of New Zealand has never been a cakewalk for any Indian cricket team. It wasn’t any different this time. Wounds inflicted by the same Kiwis in the World Cup semifinal last year were still hurting as Virat Kohli’s men landed in Auckland on a warm January afternoon. ‘Revenge’ is a word which isn’t liked much by this outfit and was certainly not to be used against the genial and much-loved New Zealanders. However, the scores were to be settled, especially in the limited overs format.

Tests? Well, we are reigning No 1 since long so maybe wasn’t a huge cause for worry.

At least, many thought so.

The results proved to be opposite.

With the loss at the Basin Reserve and in Christchurch today, the World Test Championship has seen the mighty Indians fall for the first time.

Unlike the ODIs, skipper Kohli cannot term the Test series loss as irrelevant. Yes, this is the year of T20 World Cup but for the purists, such pounding of the world’s best team—the two-Test series was done and dusted in five days—is simply unacceptable.

“No excuses. We accept it upfront and if we have to win away from home, we have to do that. No excuses, just learning moving forward. In Tests, we weren’t able to play the cricket we wanted to,” said Kohli who himself has had a forgettable tour with the bat.

Perhaps, it was waiting to happen. For long, Virat singlehandedly carried the fortunes of the Indian team. Whenever his form plummeted, so did the fortunes of the team.

Swashbuckling batsman Virat having a disastrous tour can still be a one-off. But captain Virat may still have a lot of explaining to do. Not to the board but to the millions of fans of team India. Ditto for coach Ravi Shastri who has time and again labeled the present lot as the best ever.

A loss in T20s and the ODIs isn’t remembered much. But a Test series whitewash hurts, badly. We still remember the dribbling in England and Down Under in 2011, don’t we?

This too shall hurt for long. Even though serious cricket gives way to entertainment later this month..