NEW DELHI: The Indian team on Saturday succumbed to an embarrassing series defeat against New Zealand after they lost the second Test in Pune by 113 runs in three days.
Last week, the Kiwis outplayed Rohit Sharma and co. in the series opener in Bengaluru and the Pune defeat meant that India’s stunning record of home dominance ended after 4331 days.
The series loss came as a shocker for pundits and fans alike and at the centre of it were head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Rohit.
India made tactical mistakes and suffered batting collapses one after the other in the two Tests and following it, as expected, the team think-tank was subjected to criticism.
However, former India head coach Ravi Shastri put his weight behind Gambhir, saying that he is still early in his days as coach and will learn from mistakes.
“New Zealand have beaten them (India) handsomely in both the Test matches. It’s food for thought (on series loss). He (Gambhir) has just taken over the job. It’s never easy being coach of a team that has such a big following. It’s still early days in his career as a coach. But he’ll soon learn,” said Shastri on-air.
The Kiwis made history with their first Test series triumph in India as spinner Mitchell Santner put India in a spin web, bagging 13 wickets in Pune.
New Zealand bowled out India for 245 in their chase of 359 on day three and took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The loss was India’s first Test series defeat at home since December 2012, when Alastair Cook’s England beat them 2-1.
Before Saturday, a visiting New Zealand team had never won a Test series in India dating back to their first trip in 1955.
