India vs New Zealand ODI series had a result that not many people had hoped to see. New Zealand, who had been deprived of various of their usual stars, surprised India by defeating them in the third ODI at Indore on January 18 and taking the series to 2 goals to 1. This was a historic win, with New Zealand having won the Indian series of ODIs the first time in almost 40 years.
What proved to be more shocking was the New Zealand side. The squad did not have senior players such as Kane Williamson, Rachlin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, and Tom Latham. This notwithstanding, the visitors were playing fearless cricket and they beat India at crucial moments.
The home performance on the series defeat has brought serious concerns on the performance of India, particularly in the home environment. Indian pitches also have a reputation over the years as a nightmare to the teams of SENA countries with spin bowling taking over the matches. Nevertheless, in this show, rot proved to be the greatest liability of India and not its asset.
The frontline spinners of India never struck in the three match series. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav took 12 overs and gave 89 runs in the Indore ODI. Jadeja again failed to take any wicket, and Kuldeep could take one wicket at a very high price. New Zealand had gained momentum and they failed to control the middle overs.
On the contrary, Jaden Lennox, a relatively inexperienced spinner in New Zealand, played a brilliant role. The left-arm spinner was in control and confident in his bowling and ended up with two wickets, but only 42 runs surrendered in his 10 overs, making his second ODI seem like an extended trial. His curse brought out the distinct difference between the two teams in terms of execution.
The plight of the spin duo of India had not been once game. Throughout the whole series of ODIs against India vs New Zealand, Jadeja was unable to get a single wicket, and Kuldeep was both costly and ineffective. This non penetration in the middle overs was very expensive.
The Indian captain Shubman Gill later confessed that the spinners on the team failed to get wickets at the most appropriate times. Although the quick bowlers were doing very well in Indore, they accounted seven wickets together, the lack of support by the spin department enabled New Zealand to record an enormous mark of 337 runs.
The series win of New Zealand did not concern one game or one duo. It was a wake-up call that contemporary teams are more able to adjust to the conditions in India and India can not afford to depend on just spin domination in the domicile. To Team India, the series can be a wake-up call before they can go through bigger challenges.
