The Indian cricket team are on the verge of a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand after the hosts suffered a batting collapse while chasing 147 runs to win on Day 3 of the third and final Test match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. Chasing below 150 runs to win, India were five down in no time with both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back in the hut cheaply. Yashashvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, who have been among runs in the series, couldn’t do much as well.
However, netizens couldn’t keep calm as they put memes and jokes on the internet.
Starting the day with New Zealand struggling at 171/9, India needed just 14 balls to wrap up the visitors’ innings. Ravindra Jadeja, who took a five-wicket haul in the first innings, got his second fifer of the match on Sunday when he dismissed Ajaz Patel. India needed 147 runs to win.
At a time which everyone present in the stadium thought would be a pretty easy chase, it soon turned into a manic morning for the Indian team as they collapsed dramatically. While Rohit mishit at the hands of Glenn Phillip, a misjudgment from Gill cost his wicket. Kohli’s struggle against left-arm spin continued while young Sarfaraz Khan top-edged a full toss to be caught easily.
Notably, the Indian batters have struggled against spin recently – against Sri Lanka in the ODI series and now against New Zealand in this Test series. Even if India manage to win the third Test, it should serve as a wake-up call for the players and the team management, especially head coach Gautam Gambhir, considering the all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy, starting later this month.
India have earlier lost the first two Tests against New Zealand in Bengaluru and Pune.
