Fading stars, spinning pitches: How India were shocked by New Zealand

In one of the biggest upsets in the history of Test cricket, New Zealand handed India a 3-0 series loss at home when they won the third Test in Mumbai by 25 runs, having already beaten the hosts comprehensively in Bengaluru and Pune.
The visitors’ sweep on Sunday was the first time India lost all three matches of a home series and only the second time they were whitewashed in their 90-year cricket history.
The manner of defeat in all three matches, as well as the pre-series reputation of both teams added to the shock value of the outcome at the Wankhede Stadium, where the home crowd had gathered on the weekend with the expectation of watching their team salvage some pride.
New Zealand, though, had other ideas as they ripped through a seemingly strong Indian batting lineup in less than 30 overs to complete a famous win.
How did India, modern cricket’s most powerful nation, and twice ICC World Test Championship (WTC) finalists slump so dramatically? Here’s Al Jazeera’s quick breakdown of the series loss:
When India were bowled out for 46 in the first innings of the opening Test match and went on to lose the game, India’s captain Rohit Sharma joked in his post-match news conference that all sides have a bad day and it was merely a one-off for his team.
“Don’t judge us on one bad day in the office, I’m sure you guys have bad days at work, too,” was his retort.
More than two weeks later, Rohit cut a more sombre figure as he admitted his leadership and batting had not been up to the mark.
“Something like this will be a very low point in my career, having lost three games at home. I take full responsibility as a captain. As a leader, I’ve not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series.
“With the bat as well, I’ve not been good enough.”
Rohit scored a disappointing 91 runs across six innings, with 52 being his highest score.
Rohit was not the only one who failed to score enough runs. His predecessor, and one of India’s greatest players, Virat Kohli, also failed to live up to his reputation in the series.
Kohli’s run tally was 93, with 70 his top score and the other five innings totalling a paltry 23 runs.
Both stalwarts will be in the media spotlight as they head to Australia for a much tougher challenge with the added pressure of India’s chances of qualifying for the WTC final 2025 hanging by a thread.
After falling to New Zealand’s pace and swing bowling in Bengaluru, India prepared spinning tracks in Pune and Mumbai in an apparent move to make the most of home conditions.
It worked, in one way, as India’s spinners picked up all 20 New Zealand wickets in Pune – but once again, it was the Indian batters who failed to support the bowlers and were bowled out for 156 and 245 in their two innings. Limited-overs specialist Mitchell Santner was New Zealand’s hero with the red ball, bagging 13 wickets in the match, including the now-famous full-toss bowled of Kohli.
The final Test in Mumbai was no different as the home side’s slower bowlers walked away with all 20 wickets, but none of their batters scored a century as India were bundled out for 263 and 121.
New Zealand’s array of slower bowlers were far more economical, and adapted to the changing course of the match to take 17 wickets across both Indian innings to leave the hosts in a spin.
Among the chief architects of India’s downfall were two men with deep roots in the South Asian nation.
Rachin Ravindra – named after India’s batting icons Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid by his Indian-born parents – was the second-highest run scorer in the series with 256 at an excellent average of 51.20. He was one of the only two players to score a century in the series, the other being India’s Sarfaraz Khan, and was named player of the match in the first Test.
With the ball, it was returning Mumbai native Ajaz Patel who dismantled India’s batting in the final Test. Born in a western suburb of the Indian metropolis, Ajaz moved to New Zealand with his parents as an eight-year-old but has always shined for his adopted homeland upon his return to the city.
On New Zealand’s last tour of India in 2021, Patel became only the third bowler in Test cricket history to take all 10 wickets in an innings in Mumbai. While India were able to bounce back and win the match, Patel ensured the series result went New Zealand’s way this time around as he took the last Indian wicket on Sunday.
Amidst India’s batting collapses during the series, it is their young batters who gave the home fans some hope for the future. Top-order batters Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, as well as Sarfaraz and Rishabh Pant in middle order, were among the top 10 run scorers in the series.
Meanwhile, off-spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar, impressed with 16 wickets and 89 runs in the series.
While all the attention will be on Rohit’s captaincy and batting form, his counterpart Tom Latham has quietly walked away with a feat no other New Zealand captain has managed: A test series win in India.
Latham’s role as a leader has been astonishing as he took over the reins before this series after Tim Southee stepped down following a 2-0 series loss in Sri Lanka.
With the bat, Latham also fared considerably better than Rohit, scoring 145 runs, including a crucial 86 in the second innings at Pune.