The Indian cricket team suffered a humiliating eight-wicket defeat in the rain-ravaged title match of the ICC World Test Championship against Newzealand. Former India cricketer and one of the greatest batsmen, Sachin Tendulkar, has said that the Indian team could not form solid partnerships on the last day of the match and that is why they were defeated. India started the last day with 64 runs for the loss of two wickets but soon the entire team was all out for 170 runs.
Sachin said on his YouTube channel, “I had said that the first 10 overs will be very important on the last day. If we can stick to the drinks, then we have the power to score runs fast. Rishabh Pant came and how did he play his shots and so did the rest, when he felt that the match was safe now. New Zealand cannot achieve the target but they have to save the target, this change in mindset was necessary, but for this we needed partnerships from the beginning.
Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the record for most runs in Tests and ODIs, said "the Indian team management made a mistake in the bowling combination in New Zealand's second innings in the World Test Championship (WTC) final and fewer overs from Ravindra Jadeja was a big mistake.
Spinners never came into play due to the lack of sunshine in the first few days. Especially left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja who bowled only 7.2 overs in the first innings.
"When India had lost early wickets in the beginning and then Ajinkya Rahane was also dismissed, then the Indian batsmen needed to find their feet on the wicket. He said, “It was very important not to lose wickets in the first 10-12 overs, but here New Zealand were successful and they took the wickets of Kohli-Pujara", he further added.