English 
Rohit Led India Faces The Biggest Defeat In Indian Cricketing History
MUMBAI:
The fortress had been breached already. It crumbled to the ground on Sunday when the Indian team faced a defeat, failing to chase 147 runs on the 3rd day of the 3rd test against The Kiwis.
The Black Caps defeated the ‘Tigers’ at home, creating a piece of test history dating back to 1933. India has now been defeated and whitewashed for the first time in a series of three or more games.
The humiliation was meted out by New Zealand, the team that arrived in India after suffering a defeat against the transitioning Sri Lankan team.
India had already been defeated 0-2 in the 3-test series, raising hopes they could pull one back. It wasn’t unreasonable to expect a comeback from the home team, which has qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) twice (2021, 2023).
The chase of 147 runs proved daunting on a track that felt like a minefield for the Indian top-order batsmen, including the skipper. Aside from Rishabh Pant’s fighting inning of 64 runs, the Indian team could not contribute significantly, resulting in a defeat by 25 runs.
This defeat brought immense disappointment to the crowd at Wankhede Stadium, which had recently celebrated a T20 World Champion India side, underscoring how quickly fortune can turn in sports.
Ajaz Patel emerged as a bowling hero, claiming 6/57 and completing a remarkable match haul of 11/160. This performance added to his legacy at a venue where he had previously become the third bowler in Test history to take all 10 wickets in an inning during the 2021 tour.
The defeat may also jeopardize India’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final for a third consecutive time. Following this series, India stands in the second spot in the International Test rankings. Their only hope now lies in winning 4-0 against Australia in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting on November 22nd in Australia.
The Indian team’s immediate goal should be to regroup for the challenging Australia test series, facing an Australian side eager to avenge their defeats from the last two series.
“Something like this will be a very low point in my career, having lost three games at home. I fully take responsibility for that as a captain and as a leader as well,” Rohit told reporters during the post-match media conference.
The Indian skipper also admitted that qualifying for the WTC final would be difficult. “I don’t think we can look that far ahead (WTC final),” he said. “It’s important to focus on the next series, which is Australia. A lot of our guys have been there before, and a lot of the guys haven’t been there. We are trying to go there a little early just to get used to the conditions. Australia is not an easy place to play cricket, but we can take a lot of confidence in how we played in the last two series (there) and think positively. I am not going to look beyond the Australia series.”
