NZ vs WI Test Series: In the second Test played in Wellington, New Zealand defeated West Indies in just three days. With this, the Kiwi team has taken a 1-0 lead in the series. Right from the opening day, the Kiwi team seemed to dominate the match and the strong performance of the bowlers won the entire game. New Zealand kept West Indies under pressure in both the innings and easily achieved the modest target in the end.

Paved the way to victory in the first innings

The decision to choose bowling after winning the toss proved to be a masterstroke for New Zealand captain Tom Latham. Kiwi bowlers troubled the West Indies batsmen from the very beginning. Blair Tickner took 4 wickets and Michael Ray took 3 wickets, due to which West Indies collapsed for 205 runs.

In reply, New Zealand batted intelligently. Brilliant half-centuries from Devon Conway (60) and Mitchell Hay (61) took the team to 278. The important lead of 73 runs gave the Kiwi team a strong hold in the match. After scoring 278 runs for 9 wickets, New Zealand declared the innings, which proved to be a great strategy in the future.

Duffy’s havoc, Windies collapsed in the second innings

In the second innings, West Indies’ hopes were that the team would make a comeback and leave a difficult target for New Zealand. However, Jacob Duffy’s lethal bowling broke all hopes. Duffy put West Indies on the backfoot by taking 5 brilliant wickets. Michael Ray also supported him again by taking 3 wickets. Due to the bowling of these two, the result was that West Indies were reduced to just 128 runs.

Kavm Hodge scored 35 runs and Brandon King and Justin Greaves scored 22 and 25 runs respectively, but these efforts could not even take the team to a respectable score. No batsman could stand against the accurate bowling of New Zealand.

It didn’t take long to chase the target

New Zealand achieved the target of 56 runs in just 10 overs. New Zealand did lose one wicket in the beginning, but after that Kane Williamson (16*) and Devon Conway (28*) finished the match without any pressure. Jacob Duffy was chosen player of the match for his brilliant bowling of 5 wickets.

Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir is surrounded by criticism these days. After becoming the coach in July last year, while he led the team to win the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup, India’s performance in Test cricket has been continuously declining. Recently, the 2-0 clean sweep defeat against South Africa brought Gambhir into the center of questions. Earlier, New Zealand had also defeated India 3-0. In the history of Indian cricket, there have been clean sweeps in home Test series only three times and two of these were during Gambhir’s tenure.

But is Gambhir really the only one responsible for this defeat? Former Indian coach and veteran all-rounder Ravi Shastri completely disagrees with this thinking.

Ravi Shastri bluntly

During a conversation on Prabhat Khabar’s YouTube podcast, Shastri clearly said that the responsibility of defeat does not lie only with the coach. The entire team management and the players playing on the field have equal responsibility. Shastri said, “When the team loses, the players should also take responsibility. It is wrong to target just one person. This has happened to me too, so I am speaking from experience. Players should also feel hurt after the defeat.”

He said that unless the players realize that they have shown a disappointing performance, improvement is not possible.

Gambhir responsible for India’s test defeat?

Shastri further said, “It is a collective responsibility. You cannot hold any one person responsible. South Africa played as a team, no one player defeated India. Where were we able to play?”

Shastri’s statement has given a new twist to the debate whether Gambhir is being blamed excessively. Whereas the real problem lies in team combination, poor form and collective lack of decision making.

India’s home test performance

India’s first home Test clean sweep: 1999-2000, against South Africa

Second and third clean sweep: 2024-25, against New Zealand and South Africa

Ashes Record: The Ashes, cricket’s oldest and most prestigious bilateral series, has always been a center of excitement and records. This series remains in the headlines due to the great matches between the batsmen and bowlers. However, in the initial phase, there were many such matches where the runs scored were so low that it was recorded in the records. Today we look at the matches with the lowest match aggregate in Ashes history, in which the total run count of both the teams was very low.

Lord’s Test of 1888

The lowest scoring match in Ashes history was played at Lord’s on 16 July 1888. England and Australia together scored only 291 runs. A total of 40 wickets fell in the match and the run rate was only 2.2. This match best reflects the difficulty of the pitch and bowling of those days. No team could reach 150.

manchester test 1888

A few days after the Lord’s Test, on 30 August 1888, both the teams together scored 323 runs in Manchester. A total of 30 wickets fell in this match and the run rate was only 2.45. This match was also entirely in the name of the bowlers, where the batsmen could not stay on the crease.

sydney test 1888

This test held in Sydney on 10 February 1888 became new history. England and Australia together had scored 374 runs. Not only this, all 40 wickets fell in this match. Run rate is only 1.98, i.e. not even two runs per over!

The Oval 1890

In 1890, England and Australia once again played a low-scoring match at The Oval. Both the teams together scored 389 runs and a total of 38 wickets fell in the match. During this period, the run rate was only 2.01, which was again proof of the dominance of the bowlers.

The Oval 1896

Australia and England came face to face once again in 1896 in Australia. In this match also, a total of 392 runs were scored and 40 wickets fell. The run rate in the match was 2.24. This match perfectly encapsulates the pitches of the early Ashes Tests – slow, bouncy and a bowler’s paradise.

NZ vs WI Test: New Zealand’s reliable opener Tom Latham made a spectacular comeback in the Christchurch Test and achieved a feat for which he had been waiting for almost three years. After a long wait of 1073 days, i.e. almost three years and 39 innings, Latham’s bat finally spoke. He presented an excellent example of patience and technique in the second innings against West Indies and completed the 14th Test century of his career.

The special thing about this century was that it was his first Test century against the West Indies. That means, in a single innings, Latham achieved two big achievements, ending a long drought and starting a century against a new team.

How Latham’s century was made?

The New Zealand team, which came on the field with a lead in the second innings, had a strong start. Latham and fellow opener Devon Conway gave a great start to the hosts by adding 84 runs for the first wicket. Even after Conway was out, Latham did not lose his patience. Just before the tea break on the third day, he completed his century in 179 balls. During this, he hit 9 fours and remained firmly at one end.

This innings of Latham was very important for New Zealand’s strategy, because with it the team took a strong hold on the match. His partnership with Rachin Ravindra before his century also proved to be a bonus for New Zealand.

Journey of 14 centuries

Looking at Latham’s record of total 14 Test centuries, it shows that he has been very successful in subcontinent and Asian conditions. He has scored maximum 4 centuries against Sri Lanka. He has 3 centuries each against Pakistan and Bangladesh, 2 against Zimbabwe and now 1 century each against England and West Indies.

Interestingly, he has not yet scored a Test century against big teams like India, Australia and South Africa. However, the chances have definitely been stacked against him.

The Ashes: Australia has started Ashes 2025 in its own style. In the first match of this historic Test series which started in Perth from 21 November, the Kangaroos registered an emphatic victory by defeating England by 8 wickets. Now both the teams are eyeing the second test, which will be played today on 29th November at Manuka Oval, Canberra. England would like to make a comeback in this match at any cost, while Australia would be seen to be in a mood to consolidate its lead. Before this, let us take a look at the 140-year old rivalry of both the teams.

History of the Ashes

The Ashes series is one of the oldest and most exciting cricket rivalries in the world. The journey of about 143 years has been completed in this historical series which started in 1882. During this period, both the teams, Australia and England, have played 346-346 Test matches. The broad summary of the overall results so far shows that Australia has clearly maintained its dominance on the Ashes field.

Australia’s dominance continues

According to statistics, Australia has won 143 Tests out of 346 Ashes matches. Having consistently performed brilliantly over such a long period, the team’s win-loss ratio has been 1.300. This shows that the Australian team has been playing a balanced and strong game even under pressure.

Australia’s winning percentage is 41.32%, which is much better than England. The special thing is that in such a long period not a single match was tied nor did any match end without result (NR).

condition of England

On the other hand, England also played the same number of matches (346), but the team could win only 110 matches. England’s winning percentage has been 31.79%, while its losing percentage has been 41.32%, which is in sharp contrast to Australia.

England’s win-loss ratio (W/L) has been 0.769, which shows that in this long battle of 140 years, the English team seems to be continuously struggling somewhere.

After the crushing 0-2 defeat in the home Test series against South Africa, a new debate has erupted regarding coaching in Indian cricket. Former Indian batsman Manoj Tiwari has openly said that the time has come when BCCI should look for alternatives to Gautam Gambhir for Test cricket.

India’s humiliating defeat by 408 runs in the second Test in Guwahati has raised big questions on the team’s preparations and strategy. This is the second consecutive time that India has lost a Test series at home. In such a situation, Tiwari has given a strong reaction on Gambhir’s coaching style, team selection and continuous changes.

“It was already visible that the situation was not right”

Talking to Hindustan Times, Tiwari said that he did not find India’s defeat shocking at all. According to him, “It was clear for a long time that the process was going in the wrong direction. Constant changes, lack of proper planning and lack of balance in the team, all these cause huge losses in Test cricket. This was visible in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well, against New Zealand and now also against South Africa.”

Tiwari said that a big cricketing country like India needs an expert coach for Test cricket, who understands the nuances of red ball cricket.

Demand for removal of Gambhir

Manoj Tiwari made a direct demand to remove Gambhir from the post of Test cricket coach. He said, “This is the right time. If Indian Test cricket has to be saved, then BCCI will have to take a big step.”

Attack on Gambhir’s claims

After losing the series, Gambhir had said that under his coaching India won the Asia Cup and Champions Trophy and drew the Test series in England. However Tiwari rejected these claims. He said, “The team that won the Champions Trophy and Asia Cup was already formed. Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and before that Virat Kohli had laid this foundation. Had Gambhir been serious or not, India would have won this tournament. India could have easily lost the England series too.”

IND vs SA: The shameful defeat of 408 runs in the Guwahati Test against South Africa has created a huge upheaval in Indian cricket. After losing the Test series at home after 25 years and suffering a clean sweep for the second time in the same year, questions are being raised on Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir. From social media to many veteran cricketers and experts, the demand for Gambhir’s removal is strong everywhere. However, amid all this speculation, BCCI has made its stand very clear.

BCCI Secretary Devjit Saikia said that the team’s defeat is definitely worrying, but the board is in no mood to make any major changes at the moment. He admitted that the Indian batsmen’s failure against spin on home pitches was “soul-shattering”, but also said that decisions would not be taken without thinking.

The board is working on a long-term plan

Saikia said that BCCI does not believe in taking hasty decisions after every defeat. He said, “We have a long-term plan. Winning and losing is part of the game. We do not make changes every time and will not do so this time too. If needed, decisions will be taken after a certain time.”

After this statement it became almost clear that Gautam Gambhir will remain on the post of coach for the time being and there is little possibility of any immediate change in the team management.

What is the problem in red ball cricket?

In the last 13 months, the Indian team has performed brilliantly in limited overs, but the whitewash twice in Test cricket has surprised everyone. On this question, Saikia said that the team is going through a big transition. He said that experienced players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin have been away from Tests, and new players will take time to settle down.

There was no demand for the team on the pitch

Amidst questions on Guwahati’s Barsapara pitch, Saikia made it clear that Team India had not given any specific instructions. The pitch was designed by BCCI Chief Curator Ashish Bhowmik in his own style and many experts described it as “the perfect wicket for Test cricket”.

Foreign spinners were successful, why did Indians fail?

On this, Saikia said that this is definitely a matter of concern and the board will review it in depth. In recent times, the spinners of New Zealand and South Africa have continuously troubled the Indian batsmen, while the Indian spinners have not looked effective.

After this stance of BCCI, it is clear that instead of making changes in the team, the focus will be on understanding and fixing the current challenges. India’s next Test is after seven months, and in this gap the team will have to find a way to make a comeback.

IND vs SA: The Indian cricket team’s 0-2 Test series defeat against South Africa has sparked debate across the country. After Team India’s humiliating defeat of 408 runs at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, questions are now being raised on the team’s support staff and selection policy. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal has given a direct message to BCCI on social media and made strict comments regarding the preparation of the team.

Parth Jindal’s strong message to BCCI

Parth Jindal, writing on X, said that this defeat shows that India needs a specialist red-ball coach for Test cricket. He said, “This kind of defeat at home… I don’t remember the last time such weakness was seen. This is what will happen when red-ball specialists are not given a chance. The real strength of the Test format is not visible in the team. India should immediately appoint a separate coach for the Tests.”

This comment of Jindal directly indicates that IPL franchise owners are also worried about the current coaching setup.

Gambhir did not blame any one player

Head coach Gautam Gambhir did not point fingers at any one player in the press conference after the defeat. However, it was clear from his words that he was very upset with captain Rishabh Pant’s “shot that pleased the gallery”.

India had started well at 95/1, but after a brilliant spell by Marco Jansson, the score reached 122/7. Meanwhile, Pant also lost his wicket by playing an unnecessary aggressive shot. Which completely turned the match towards South Africa.

Gambhir said in the press conference, “Can’t blame any player on one shot. Every player has the responsibility. We have to improve a lot in red-ball cricket – be it mentally, technically or in terms of sacrifice for the team. The most important thing is not to play for the gallery.”

Growing questions on India’s test form

The second Test series defeat at home in a year has raised a big question on India’s strength. Last year, New Zealand had defeated Team India 3-0 and now South Africa also made a clean sweep. In such a situation, the discussion has intensified whether India should now adopt a separate coaching and selection system for Test cricket?

IND vs SA: The South Africa Test series was no less than a nightmare for Team India. India had to face a 2-0 clean sweep in this two-match home series. In the second Test played in Guwahati, India suffered a shameful defeat by 408 runs, which is Team India’s biggest defeat in terms of runs in Test history. Before this, India had never lost by a run margin of more than 350, but this time the record was broken and so were the hearts of the fans.

Dinesh Karthik expressed his displeasure

This defeat of Team India has given a deep shock not only to the fans but also to the former cricketers. In this connection, former wicketkeeper and commentator Dinesh Karthik openly expressed his displeasure and pain by sharing a video on Instagram.

Karthik said that now the era is over when teams were afraid of playing Tests in India. He said, “Now foreign teams will be excited to come to India. Second whitewash in 12 months… There have been clean sweeps twice in the last three home Test series. This is a big crisis for Indian Test cricket.” It was clearly visible from his words that this defeat is not just a match, but a warning that Indian Test cricket is going in the wrong direction.

Questions raised on team combination also

Dinesh Karthik also raised big questions on team selection and combination. He said that India played “too many all-rounders” in this series, due to which the balance of the team was completely disturbed. As an example, he mentioned Nitish Reddy, who has bowled only 14 overs in the domestic season, yet he was given the role of pace all-rounder in the Tests.

Karthik criticized and said, “In this series, only two players from India scored fifty, while seven players from South Africa scored half-centuries. This shows how far behind we are.”

Jugalbandhi of number-3 became a concern

Karthik raised the biggest issue regarding the number-3 batsman of the Indian team. He said that in the entire last Test Championship cycle, India’s number-3 has been the most unstable and his average is only 26. He asked sarcastically, “Who is our confirmed number 3? Sometimes Sudarshan plays at number 3, sometimes Washington Sundar. How will there be stability by making changes in every match?”

Next test after 7 months

Dinesh Karthik ended the talk by saying that Team India’s next test is in June next year, which means there is still a long gap of seven months. He asked the question, “Shall we forget this defeat, or make it the beginning of reform?”

IND vs SA Test Series: South Africa defeated Team India by 408 runs in the Guwahati Test and clean swept the two-match Test series 2-0. This defeat was not only big on the scoreboard, but also proved to be extremely embarrassing for Indian cricket. The match slipped out of India’s grip in the very first innings and the second innings completely fell apart. The poor performance of many players became the biggest reason for this defeat. Here we know about those 5 players who hurt India’s hopes the most in this match.

Sai Sudarshan

In Test cricket, the number 3 position is considered to be the backbone of the team, but Sai Sudarshan could not fulfill that responsibility in this series. Where India needed a strong wall in this position, Sudarshan consistently proved to be the weak link. In the Guwahati Test, he scored 15 runs in the first innings and only 14 runs in the second innings. Leave aside handling the pressure of the batsmen who were out before him, he himself looked unstable from the very beginning.

Rishabh Pant

The team always expects fight from the captain, but Rishabh Pant was very disappointing in this match. In the first innings, he threw away his wicket by playing an irresponsible shot as soon as he came. The pitch was very helpful for the batsmen, yet Pant made the mistake of leaving the crease and playing a big shot. Along with captaincy, his ignorance in batting also became a big factor in the team’s defeat.

Dhruv Jurel

There were a lot of expectations from Dhruv Jurel after getting the chance to replace Shubman Gill. His entry was in discussion after good performance in domestic cricket and A team, but he proved to be a complete flop in the Guwahati Test. Could not even open the account in the first innings and walked away after scoring only 2 runs in the second innings. This opportunity was big for his career, which he lost.

KL Rahul

The most experienced batsman of the team, KL Rahul has rescued India from trouble many times, but this time he looked very pale. Returning to the pavilion after scoring 22 runs in the first innings and only 6 runs in the second innings exposes his form and technical weaknesses. Instead of big innings under pressure, Rahul is repeatedly giving small performances, which is harmful for the team.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Nitish Reddy, who joined the team as an all-rounder, could not do justice to his role. 10 runs in the first innings and 0 runs in the second innings. Even in bowling, he bowled 10 overs, but could not take a single wicket. In Test cricket, the impact of an all-rounder can change a match, but Nitish’s performance was exactly the opposite.