India crashed to a 25-run defeat against New Zealand in the third and final Test, in Mumbai. The win saw New Zealand complete a 3-0 whitewash, much to the shock of the home side's fans. It is also the first time that India have been whitewashed in a home series of three or more Tests at home.
Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir have been criticised for their strategy, with the former also in the scanner for his poor form. Australia legend Adam Gilchrist feels that the Indian cricket team will have plenty to contemplate on.
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Adam Gilchrist's stunning remark
Speaking to Fox Sports, he remarked, "It does (have an impact), more for the Indian players and the Indian team internally. They have to be asking themselves pretty hard questions."
Gilchrist also hinted at questions raised towards Gambhir’s management, as the result could raise discussions ‘internally’. "I’m not expecting them to come out and be easy beats, but I do think on the back of that loss and the fact that it was a clean sweep — I cannot remember when that’s happened to them, just losing a series, let alone a clean sweep — I think that will raise some questions internally and the pressure and the expectation and the desire from a passionate cricketing nation to see that change around, that’ll ride heavily on those shoulders of all those players," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Gilchrist also hinted at questions raised towards Gambhir’s management, as the result could raise discussions ‘internally’. "I’m not expecting them to come out and be easy beats, but I do think on the back of that loss and the fact that it was a clean sweep — I cannot remember when that’s happened to them, just losing a series, let alone a clean sweep — I think that will raise some questions internally and the pressure and the expectation and the desire from a passionate cricketing nation to see that change around, that’ll ride heavily on those shoulders of all those players," he said.
{{/usCountry}}"There are a few ageing players there who may start to even second guess themselves a little bit. There’s some high class cricketers in that Indian squad. It’s going to be fascinating to see how they rebound from that challenge," he added.
This is also the first time ever that New Zealand have won three Tests in a series home or away, and first time they have bagged three successive away Test wins. Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Indian setup will be asking themselves plenty of questions. Meanwhile, the pressure will also be on captain Rohit and veteran Virat Kohli. The pair have been in bad form, and need to bounce back.