All the News on Cricket | Women in Blue Shine on the Pitch; Men Grappling to Reach Erstwhile Glory 

New Zealand Cricket Team
New Zealand vs India: NZ won both the test matches against India.
New Zealand Cricket Team
New Zealand vs India: NZ won both the test matches against India.

Women in Blue: Indian Women Cricket Team

Women in Blue have reached in the last four on the list, just two-match away from winning the title of T20 World Cup in Australia. Meanwhile, Indian women’s cricket team sneaked three runs victory against New Zealand and booked their place in the semi-finals. Indian women continued their winning. Shafali has been batting beautifully. She scored 46 runs against Sri Lanka and set the platform of India’s victory. India secured the top position in its group by winning all the four matches.

Indian spinners have done exceptionally well in the tournament and defeated the hosts and defending champion Australia by 17 runs in the tournament opener. Team India is looking to lift the coveted T-20 world cup for the first time just two matches away. The team is full of enthusiasm and confidence to take on any opponent. 

Kohli’s leadership questionable?

The world’s number one Test side India suffered a second consecutive humiliating defeat and first whitewash after eight years. New Zealand drubbed team India by seven wickets in the second Test at Christchurch and sealed the series 2-0. The star-studded Indian batting failed miserably in both Tests against disciplined and bowler-friendly conditions.

ODI whitewash breaks bone

The drubbing in the ODI series made the ghosts of the World Cup semi-final alive; the ODI whitewash broke the backbone of team India from which they could not recover. They were tactically, technically and mentally outplayed by the hosts in both the Tests. Severe lack of character from the batters while the failure of the bowling unit to wrap up the lower orders quickly helped the opposition to make this series one-sided.

Kiwis apply sensibly

Williamson and his troops came back strongly in the ODI and Test series after drubbing 5-0 in the T-20 series. After the T-20 triumph, team India looked toothless, disjointed and tentative on the ground. The world-famed Indian batting line up fell apart like a house of cards. New Zealand was undoubtedly better organised and applied their skills sensibly on the pitch after the T-20 debacle. The hosts had the home advantage, and luckily coins fell in favour of Kane Williamson in both Tests.

Cricket fans disappointed

Indian cricket fans hoping that Kohli and boys will bounce back in the second Test. But team India disappointed the millions of fans with their miserable performance on the Kiwis soil. Indian bowlers brought back the team on the track and took a slender lead of seven runs at Christchurch after the end of the first innings. At that time, the pendulum was slightly in favour of India because the hosts had to play the fourth innings.

Boult, Southee too hot to handle

The dismal performance of Indian batters continued, and the team bowled out for 124 runs in the second innings. The two old warhorses Boult and Southee were the wrecker in chief and took four and three wickets respectively. Short pitch deliveries proved a nightmare for most of the Indian batsmen. Southee and company were firing with all cylinders and never allowed the visitors to settle down.

Openers take away match

Chasing a meagre target of 132 runs, the Kiwis openers took the match away as they scored 103 runs in the opening partnership. The bowlers showed some penetration far too late when it didn’t matter. A miracle was needed, which could not happen. It is undeniable that the hosts outclassed the visitors in both the Tests Williamson and his troops deserved scintillating victory. Newcomer Kyle Jamieson and veteran bowler Tim Southee adjudged man of the match and player of the series respectively. Southee captured 14 wickets in the two Tests series.

In the presentation ceremony, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson expressed his “outstanding feeling”. 

India skipper Virat Kohli said, “We are not a side that thinks about the result of the toss. Yes, it did give a bit of extra advantage to the bowlers in the first two hours of each Test, but as an international side playing so well over two to three seasons, you are expected to go out and execute in those conditions.”

Despite losing 120 points in New Zealand, India is still leading in World Test Championship (2019-2021) Points Table. The top four teams points are given below:

Rank

Team

Points

1

India

360

2

Australia

296

3

England

146

4

Pakistan

140