Mumbai,nov 3
Packed with proven performers, Indian team seemed like a bunch of clueless cricketers as it endured an unprecedented and humiliating 0-3 whitewash at the hands of a resolute New Zealand with a 25-run defeat in the third Test, a result that put the home side to its lowest ebb, here Sunday.A courageous Rishabh Pant raised hopes of a great escape with his valiant 64-run knock but once he trudged back to the pavilion following a contentious third-umpire call, the Indian fortress, that had been breached twice in this series before, was completed raged by the Black Caps.In pursuit of a manageable 147, India’s famed batters, a few classified as modern-day greats, were a picture of pity as they all folded for 121.It is the first time that the India team has been clean swept in a three-match series. The last time India suffered a whitewash was in 2000 when it lost 0-2 to South Africa.The aura of invincibility around the Indian team at home was broken with remarkable ease by the Kiwis, who not only adapted but mastered the conditions that have always favoured them. India had only themselves to blame in failing to chase a sub-par target on a day three wicket, losing five key wickets for a mere 16 runs at the start for an embarrassing collapse. With 55 runs needed post lunch and five wickets intact, India’s hopes rested on Pant but he was a casualty of a contentious third-umpire call which swung the game in New Zealand’s favour completely.The baffling collapse was triggered by captain Rohit Sharma’s harakiri act and Ajaz Patel’s (6/57) accuracy that left them tottering at 29 for five.India’s ineptness had exerted pressure on Pant, who could not have responded any better against the odds until the ghosts of inaccurate technology in the game arrived to haunt him and India.Pant had belittled every challenge that New Zealand threw at him, blasting nine fours and a six to make 64 from only 57 balls.Having not taken a review earlier in the morning session for a leg-before, New Zealand burned one when they took against Pant for a caught-behind but the replays showed Patel’s delivery in the 22nd over had neither been in contact with the bat or the gloves.
