NEW DELHI: In response to India’s loss to New Zealand in the second Test match in Pune, former cricketer Anil Kumble expressed his disappointment, attributing the defeat to the Indian team’s lackluster batting performance.
By securing a 113-run victory at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday, Tom Latham’s New Zealand team achieved a historic first-ever series win on Indian soil.
This loss brought an end to India’s impressive 18-series unbeaten run at home, which stood as the longest such streak for any team.With New Zealand now holding a 2-0 lead in the three-match series, the final Test is scheduled to take place at the renowned Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 1.
In his conversation with Jio Cinema, Kumble underscored the importance of each Test match in India’s quest to reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
“I think that’s the beauty of the WTC. Although the series is over for India, each Test match remains crucial. They’ve made things harder for themselves. At the start of the series, we talked about needing five wins to comfortably reach the championship final. But now, with four wins required from the next six matches, it’s even tougher, especially with one game against this confident New Zealand side at Wankhede and five more in Australia,” Kumble said.
Kumble commended India’s bowling attack and pointed out that their ability to take 20 wickets in the series has kept them at the top of the WTC points table.
However, he stressed the urgency for India’s batsmen to start contributing runs.
“India have done exceptionally well in their last two series in Australia, but qualifying now is even more challenging. They need to get their act together. The batting has been disappointing, and though the bowling will continue to face challenges, India are at the top because their bowlers have consistently taken those 20 wickets. The batting needs to step up and deliver runs,” he added.
