Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli under-performed in the recently concluded three-match Test series against New Zealand and fans have expectedly fumed and demanded that both players should immediately retire from the longest format of the game.
The two veterans, who were once regarded as the main pillars of the Indian batting line up, came under heavy criticism from the public after their pathetic display during the series. Rohit could only accumulate 91 runs at an appalling 15.16 in three matches for the series, his personal best for the year being 52. Kohli scored a run at an average of 15.50 and managed to accumulate 93 runs in that series. Still, except for the knock of 70 in the second innings of Pune, he could manage just 23 in the next five innings.
Through the series, this combination was no different from the rest of the Indian batting woes. While Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant stood out, getting India over 450 at Pune, very few other innings crossed 200. That inaugural innings score of 46 in Bengaluru was the lowest by India in their own den and a clear pointer to the pathetic state of their batting.
Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were the only two batsmen who could provide some stability to the Indian team, but others let them down. For that reason, India experienced a series defeat for the first time in the history of the nation in the longest form of the game, where the series included at least three Tests.
After such reception of these results, Rohit accepted his mistakes, which mean that he failed as the captain and opener. His dismissals by fast bowlers on spinning tracks spurred debate, especially this decisive off a reckless shot in the second innings of Mumbai when he got out before the spinners could have a crack at him. Kohli appeared slightly suspect against left-arm spinners; both bowlers Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel targeted him for trouble.
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