Worrying signs were all on display after India’s batting unit found themselves exposed on their home turf against overseas spinners after the Rohit Sharma-led side endured a historic Test series against New Zealand. With an unprecedented 3-0 Test series on home soil, ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar has stepped forward and admitted that perhaps it is time for India to have an ‘introspection’. Apart from the first innings of the opening Test, which was played under gloomy skies in Bengaluru, the New Zealand pacers did not make much of an impact in the rest of the series.

India moved to turn the tracks and the New Zealand spinners of Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips brought out the vulnerable skills of the Indian batsmen when they came forward to face the bowling turns.

In 2024, India’s batting average against spinners has seen a significant drop in the three Tests Rohit’s side have hosted this year.

Earlier in the year, India hosted England for a five-match Test series and secured a 4-1 victory under then head coach Rahul Dravid.

The Indian batsmen slowly began to expose themselves to the spinners during their emphatic series win over England. During that series, India’s batting average against spinners almost touched 40, 39.9 to be exact, in five matches. Shoaib Bashir (17), Rehan Ahmed (11), Tom Hartley (22), Jack Leach (2) and Joe Root (8) combined to take 60 wickets in the series.

On the competitive surfaces against Bangladesh, India’s batsmen fared well and accumulated runs at an average of 42.9. However, against New Zealand, the average bottomed out. In three Tests, India lost 37 wickets to the New Zealand spinners and averaged just 24.4.

The series whitewash has made India’s road to the World Test Championship final a difficult affair. Before their recent setback, India dominated the 2023-2025 WTC points table holding the top spot. However, things took a turn for the worse after the historic 3-0 defeat.

India lost their top spot in the World Test Championship rankings and slipped to second place with their points percentage dropping to 58.33%. As the Border-Gavaskar series approaches, Australia now holds the top spot with a run percentage of 62.50%.

India need to win four matches against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to qualify for the WTC final. The BGT series will be a five-match series and India can afford to draw or lose just one game.

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