Is It Time Up For Rohit, Kohli, Ashwin?

Rohit has managed just one half-century in his last eight innings in which he has tallied 104 runs.
Kohli's freefall in Test cricket continues. He has fallen to spin three times in the first two Tests.
Ashwin, usually, dominant at home, managed just six wickets in the first two Tests at an average of 43.

It has been a nightmare two weeks for the Indian team.

Once the world's best in Test cricket, they now have one of the most shaky batting line-ups, marking a new low for Indian cricket.

In a shocking reversal, India suffered its first defeat in a home Test series after a long gap of 11 years, ending their run of 18 consecutive series wins.

What stunned fans was that India came undone against New Zealand, who don't boast of a great record against in this country.

In fact, the Kiwis had come into the series of the back of a 0-2 series whitewash in Sri Lanka and they suffered another blow after batting mainstay Kane Williamson was ruled out of the first two games, while Tom Latham took over the captaincy from Tim Southee.

Despite being outplayed in Sri Lanka, the exposure to the spin-friendly conditions in the island nation proved to be a big help for the Kiwi batters coming into the India series.

The New Zealand team won as many Test matches in two weeks as they did in the past seven decades in India.

India, on the other hand, were full of confidence after whitewashing Bangladesh 2-0. They were expected to steamroll the Kiwis, but one decision changed the change of the course of the series.

Rohit Sharma's gamble to bat first on a rain-affected Bengaluru pitch backfired spectacularly, as the Indians folded for a lowly 46, while giving the New Zealand the momentum and also a lot of self-belief.

Not only did Rohit mess up at the toss, his reckless shot to throw his wicket away set the tone for India's downfall. The Kiwi pacers were making the ball talk in overcast conditions, but Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal somehow managed to survive the first six overs.

The need of the hour was to play out the new ball, but Rohit decided to show some intent at exactly the wrong time and ended up paying the price for his indiscretion.

Charging down the track to a pacer to heave across the line on a helpful wicket is nothing but foolishness and that is what Rohit also found out.

Twelve balls later, another senior pro Virat Kohli perished for a duck caught down the leg side as he looked to glance the incoming delivery from William O'Rourke.

Five Indian batters would go on to be dismissed for ducks, with only two of the remaining managing to get above the 10 run mark as India were bowled out for their lowest total in a home Test.

The conditions did improve considerably when New Zealand came out to bat, but what hurt India was Ravichandran Ashwin's lack of impact with the ball.

While Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja picked up three wickets each, Ashwin managed just one wicket in the first innings while conceding 94 runs in 16 overs.

India bounced back strongly in the second innings and looked on course to become only the second team in the history of the game to draw a Test match after being bowled out for less than 50.

But another batting collapse ruined all their hopes as they lost their last seven wickets for 54 runs, getting bundled out for 462 when they looked on course for a total around 550.

It was another abject surrender by the Indians on a pitch held no terror for the batters on Day 4.

The two collapses had dented the confidence of the Indian batters' and that was evident during another rout in Pune. This time Rohit didn't have to bother about the toss, but New Zealand made most of batting first on a pitch which started helping the spinners right from the start.

This time it was New Zealand's turn to collapse, as they lost their last five wickets for 24 runs but the total of 259 was above par against a batting line-up clearly short of confidence on a pitch which kept getting difficult for the batters.

The spectators watched in horror as India once again caved in for a disappointing 156 in 45.3 overs with left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner taking 7/53.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the top-scorer with 38 as Rohit and Kohli endured another failure.

India's batters flopped again in the second innings courtesy of Santner's 6/104 as they were sent packing for 245 to lose a home Test series for the first time in 11 years.

Even the Sri Lankans could afford a laugh at India's expense. It was the same Santner, who managed just 1/197 in 66.2 overs sent down during the two Test series in Sri Lanka, despite being played on rank turners and here he was making the Indian batters dance to his tunes.

What was noticeable in the two defeats was the struggle of the senior players.

Rohit has managed just 62 runs in the first two Tests to continue his poor recent run. He has scored one half-century in his last eight innings in which he has tallied 104 runs.

Kohli's freefall in Test cricket continues. He has fallen to spin three times in the first two Tests, scoring just 88 runs. Since 2020, India's senior most batter has managed just two centuries in 33 Tests, with a single hundred in 15 home games.

K L Rahul made 12 in the first Test before he made way for Shubman Gill, who scored 53 in Pune. Even young guns Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan have been inconsistent, with just one good knock out of four in the series.

The bowling has also been a big letdown with Ashwin and Jadeja, the pillars of India's spin attack in the last few years, clearly on the decline.

Washington Sundar, playing his first Test after three years, took nearly as wickets in one game than what Ashwin and Jadeja combined in the two Tests. Sundar picked up 11 wickets in the Pune Test, including a seven wicket haul, while Ashwin and Jadeja haven't taken more than three wickets to claim six wickets apiece.

Jasprit Bumrah going wicketless in the Pune Test added to India's woes, while Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep also haven't been able to trouble the Kiwis.

Nearly all the predictions at the start of the series were 3-0 to India, but unbelievably the hosts now find themselves battling to avoid a whitewash at home -- which has happened just once in their Test history.

While India don't need to press the panic button and make wholesale changes, they would benefit from identifying young players ready to step up in Test cricket.

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