'This is embarrassing display by team India at home. Lot to ponder over by the decision makers'
'Losing a series is bad enough. But to lose to pace, to spin and in the heat, all three, is embarrassing'
- SCORECARD
Legendary spinner Anil Kumble expressed his disappointment with India's humiliating 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand, particularly criticising the team's top-order batting and the questionable pitch preparation.
"I think it's about time. If it was not even before the start of this Test match, it certainly something that India needs to respect and then, you know, understand what kind of surfaces you need to play on as well," Kumble said on Jio Cinema.
He argued that the pitch played into the minds of the Indian batters, leading to their downfall.
"One team that has been really good travellers when they come to India has been the Kiwis. Everybody has a good soft word and nice word about the Kiwis. But this was a performance where, you know New Zealand dominated in the series. Yes, of course, the win was just by 25 runs. But the way they went about countering the pitches, the conditions, the bowling and that's what you know, you need to give credit to to New Zealand. Whereas India succumbed to all those that I mentioned," Kumble said.
"I think the pitch got to the heads of the Indian batters...the top order not even batting a session throughout the series, except for that one partnership in Bangalore in the second innings. Other than that, you know in five innings to sort of just go through a batting line up, like the Indian batting line up in one session certainly says a lot about the approach, the attitude and of course, needs a lot of questioning and how you could come out of this," he added.
The legendary Sachin Tendulkar tweeted, "Losing 3-0 at home is a tough pill to swallow, and it calls for introspection. Was it lack of preparation, was it poor shot selection, or was it lack of match practice?"
"Full credit to New Zealand for their consistent performance throughout the series. Winning 3-0 in India is as good a result as it can get."
The flamboyant Yuvraj Singh wrote, "Cricket truly is a humbling sport, isn't it? Just months after our T20 World Cup win, we face a historic whitewash."
"That's the beauty of this game! Bigger tests lie ahead with the Australia series & the way forward is to introspect, learn and look up! Congratulations to the @BLACKCAPS on a well-rounded performance and a historic win."
Former West Indies great Ian Bishop tweeted, "Amazing from New Zealand. A population of less than 6 million. No Kane Williamson. They have conquered an unenviable task, and both men's and women's teams have had an historic and proud few weeks."
Former England captain Michael Vaughan hailed the achievement as one of the greatest ever Test series victories, highlighting India's struggles against spin bowling.
"To win in India is incredible but to deliver a clean sweep is remarkable... has to be the greatest ever Test series victory... India now have a group of Batters that struggle like most teams against Spin... #INDWvNZW," he tweeted.
Wasim Jaffer echoed Vaughan's sentiments, calling it possibly the greatest moment in New Zealand cricket history.
"No praise high enough for this achievement from NZ. Possibly the greatest moment in NZ Cricket history. They outplayed India in every department in the toughest place to come and win, and deserve all the accolades and respect. Well played @BLACKCAPS," he tweeted.
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan was critical of India's performance, calling it an "embarrassing display."
He tweeted, "This is embarrassing display by team India at home. Lot to ponder over by the decision makers. Well done New Zealand on such a terrific performance."
Harsha Bhogle expressed his disappointment at India's performance, stating, "Losing a series is bad enough. But to lose to pace, to spin and in the heat, all three, is embarrassing."
"Outstanding from New Zealand. This is an exhibition of what hardworking, disciplined teams can achieve. I have always been a fan of New Zealand cricket. I am now doubly so. This is one of the great results in modern test match cricket."
Ayaz Memon analysed the reasons behind India's debacle, "What caused India’s debacle? Lingering euphoria of T20 WC win & disbelief that NZ could survive on spinning pitches led to degree of complacency. Ashwin, Jadeja, Sundar, Pant, Gill, Jaiswal pulled their weight, but rank failure of Rohit (91 runs) & Virat (93 runs) hurt team badly."
"India’s ploy to prepare turners to trap overseas teams, which has paid dividends for decades, boomeranged badly against a hardy, resilient, skilful and deeply motivated team superbly led by Latham. Hats off to the Kiwis!"
Harbhajan Singh criticised the pitch preparation saying, "Earlier generations batsman’s never played on these kind of tracks . These tracks are prepared for 2/3 day Test matches . You Don’t need Murli, Warne or saqi on these pitches to get the teams out. Anyone can get anyone out."
