Sachin Tendulkar doesn't hold back, demands 'introspection' after India swallow 'bitter pill': 'Losing 3-0 at home is…'

Sachin Tendulkar questioned if it was lack of match practice or poor selection of shots which resulted in India's 0-3 whitewash at home.

Legendary India batter Sachin Tendulkar has called for “introspection” after India suffered a 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand on Sunday in Mumbai following a 25-run loss in the final match of the series. This was the first time India were clean swept on home soil in a Test series (minimum of three matches), which subsequently all but ended their hopes of making the World Test Championship final.

Sachin Tendulkar had his say on India's 0-3 whitewash on home soil

India were touted to complete a consolation win on Sunday, the third day of the series finale at the Wankhede Stadium, after setting themselves up with a 147-run target. But another top-order collapse, once again against the spinners, summed up India's shambolic batting performance throughout the series.

India were reduced to five down for just 29 runs within the opening 50 deliveries, before the rest of the line-up crumbled an hour after Lunch.

Taking to social media, Sachin questioned if it was lack of match practice or sheer poor selection of shots which resulted in India's 0-3 whitewash at home.

He tweeted: “Losing 3-0 at home is a tough pill to swallow, and it calls for introspection. Was it lack of preparation, was it poor shot selection, or was it lack of match practice?”

Sachin hails Gill, Pant, Kiwis

The former India captain, who has his fare share of batting records against New Zealand through the course of his illustrious career, however, did not forget to give a special mention to Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant, who were India's positive in an otherwise forgettable batting show against New Zealand.

A look at India's worst performances in a series at home

On the spiteful Wankhede track, Gill had carved out a valiant 90 off 146 in the opening innings to keep India in the match, while Pant kept the fight alive in the second innings with his 57-ball 64. The latter was, in fact, India's best batter in the series, scoring 261 runs in six innings, laced with three fifties.

“@ShubmanGill showed resilience in the first innings, and @RishabhPant17 was brilliant in both innings— his footwork made a challenging surface look like a different one altogether. He was simply superb,” added Tendulkar, who scored 1595 runs in 24 appearances against New Zealand, the second-most by an India batter after Rahul Dravid (1659). 753 of those runs came on home soil, in 13 matches between 1995 and 2012, during which India won four of the five Test series against the Kiwis, while one ended in a draw. Not to forget, Sachin was India's key batter with 344 runs in three matches in their 1-0 series win in New Zealand.

The veteran India batter also credited New Zealand on their historic Test series win. The 3-0 victory was, in fact, their first instance of winning three Tests in a single series, home or away, and the first three ever they have won three successive away Tests.

“Full credit to New Zealand for their consistent performance throughout the series. Winning 3-0 in India is as good a result as it can get,” he added.