Prior to the much-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy match against Australia away from home beginning on November 22, prominent Indian batsmen Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma put an end to an awful home Test season.
Virat and Rohit were dismissed for modest scores once more in the third and final Test of the series against New Zealand. Glenn Phillips grabbed Rohit after he was bowled for 11 runs by Matt Henry during a 147-run chase. Ajaz Patel, on the other hand, dismissed Virat for a delivery that cost him just one run in four deliveries. At slips, he gave Daryl Mitchell an easy catch, continuing his troubles against spinners.
With these dismissals, Virat and Rohit have concluded an extremely underwhelming home season consisting of a series against Bangladesh and Kiwis. It does not serve as a good sign for the team ahead of the high-profile BGT series. Only a massive win in the series would help India secure their third-successive ICC World Test Championship final appearance at Lord’s next year.
Rohit has amassed 133 runs at an average of just 13.30 in these five Test matches, including a half-century in ten innings. 52 is his highest score. He has scored 6, 5, 23, 8, 2, 52, 0, 8, 18, and 11 points this home season.
With two hundreds, two fifties, and a top score of 131, Rohit has amassed 588 runs at a below-average average of 29.40 in 11 Test matches and 21 innings this year. Since he began playing in the format in 2019, this Test average is the lowest he has had in a calendar year. Surprisingly, he had the finest T20 cricket season during this time frame, with the highest strike rate (154.66) and average (36.13) for a calendar year.
Rohit has amassed 833 runs at an average of 33.32 in 14 Test matches during the current ICC World Test Championship 2023–25, with three hundreds and four fifties in 26 innings. He has a maximum score of 131.
However, Virat’s spin problems have become worse, so while his figures are marginally better, they are still not encouraging. He has amassed 192 runs at an average of 21.33 in 10 innings throughout five Test matches, with a top score of 70 and only one fifty. He has scored 6, 17, 47, 29*, 0, 70, 1, 17, 4, and 1 this home season.
Virat has only amassed 250 runs this season at an average of 22.72 in 12 Test innings over six games, with a half-century and a top score of 70.
Virat has amassed 561 runs at an average of 37.40 in nine Test matches and 16 innings during the current WTC cycle 2023–25. He has also amassed a century, three fifties, and a top score of 121 in 16 innings.
With Rishabh Pant (53) and Washington Sundar (6) undefeated on day three of the contest despite chasing 147 runs, India were 92/6 going into the game.
Jadeja’s five-wicket haul (5/55) and some excellent bowling from Ravichandran Ashwin (3/62) earlier helped the Kiwis be bowled out for 174. The highlight of the NZ innings was Will Young’s valiant half-century (51 in 100 balls, including two fours and a six). After India made 263 in their first innings in response to New Zealand’s 235-run first innings total, the Kiwis gained a 146-run advantage.
NZ: 235 and 174 (Will Young 51, Glenn Phillips 26; Ravindra Jadeja 5/55); India: 263 and 92/6 (Rishabh Pant 53, Washington Sundar 6, Ajaz Patel 4/43) require 55 runs.