India vs New Zealand 2nd Test: Kiwis defeated India to a 2-0 series whitewash and pranced to the second spot in the ICC Test ranking, as its bowlers took 47 minutes to wrap India's second innings and the openers – Tom Blundell and Tom Latham – made the 132-run target look easier than it was. Kiwis defeated India by 7 wickets in the second Test of the two-match Test series at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, on Monday.
Where did India fail?
New Zealand's five-man seam attack outshined India's fast bowling attack. However, the main concern was the batting. Cheteshwar Pujara was the highest run-scorer in the second innings. He scored 24 runs off 88 deliveries that included two boundaries. Indian skipper failed to impress the audience and scored a total of 17 runs in the second Test. Kohli managed to score a total of 38 runs in the two-match Test series.
What Virat Kohli has to say?
In a post-match press conference,
Virat Kohli said that "I feel like we were completely outplayed and obviously we did not play the kind of cricket that we do play as a team. The thing to take away from here was not to shy away from the things that went wrong and address them instead."
Kohli loses cool on reporter
On being asked whether Kohli needs to tone down aggression and set an example for his team, Indian skipper replied: "What do you think? I am asking you for the answer. You need to find out exactly what happened and then come up with a better question, I have spoken with the match referee, you cannot come here with half-knowledge. Thank you." On Sunday, Kohli was seen fired up on Day 2 of the Test match. He celebrated vigorously on the dismissals of Kane Williamson and Tom Latham.
Also Read | Kyle Jamieson wrecks India's first innings, 2nd Test
Player of the Match/Series
Kyle Jamieson was named player of the match as he took a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the second Test match at Christchurch. Though he was not able to bag single wicket in the second innings, he batted well and had scored 49 runs in the first innings. Meanwhile, Tim Southee was awarded player of the series as he took 14 wickets in the two-match Test series.
ICC World Test Championship Points Table — Where Kiwis stand?
With an amazing victory in the two-match Test series, New Zealand has surpassed England to reach the third spot with 180 points against its name in ICC World Test Championship. Meanwhile, India is on the top with 360 points out of nine matches played, while Australia is at the second spot with 296 points out of 10 matches played. Kiwis have played just seven matches so far. Likewise, England has fallen to the fourth with 146 points and Pakistan at fifth with 140 points.
Now, India's next reality check will be against Australia in another away series and hence it needs to buck up and come up with improvements and new strategies.
-PTC News
