Former captain Anil Kumble feels that India have made things difficult for themselves as far as their hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) final are concerned after losing a home series against New Zealand for the first time. On Saturday, October 26, the Kiwis defeated India by 113 runs in the second Test in Pune to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The Test match ended in the final session on Day 3 as India were bowled out for 245 in their pursuit of a 359-run target on a difficult batting surface. Kumble, however, mentioned that the third Test, which will be played in Mumbai from November 1 onwards, isn't a dead rubber as India can add crucial points in the WTC standings. However, the former cricketer asserted that it won't be easy for Rohit Sharma's men to turn things around against a confident New Zealand side.
"I think that's the beauty about WTC. I know the series is done for India, but then every Test match is equally important. They have made it harder for themselves. At the start of the series, we spoke about getting five wins for you to really sail into the championship final. But now if you need those four wins in the next six matches, that becomes even tougher because the one is at the Wankhede Stadium against this extremely confident New Zealand side and then five against Australia in Australia," Anil Kumble said on JioCinema.
The batting needs to come together and start getting those runs: Kumble
India are still on top of the WTC points table, even after their losses in the first two Tests. Kumble noted that the bowlers deserve a lot of credit for this, as they have shown the ability to pick up 20 wickets in Test matches. However, the cricketer-turned-expert hoped that the batters would be able to redeem themselves after a dismal showing in the series.
"I know India has done really well in the last two series that they played in Australia, but again it's all the tougher for India to qualify, but they have to really get their act together. The batting has been disappointing. The bowling will have its challenges right throughout. The reason that India is on the top there is because Indian bowlers have been able to pick up those 20 wickets. The batting needs to come together and start getting those runs," Kumble stated.
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India need a minimum of four wins from the remaining six matches to make sure that they directly qualify for the final of the World Test Championship 2025. Another defeat and India will have to depend on other teams to get to the summit clash.
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