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On November 3, 2024, New Zealand scripted history as they became the first-ever team to whitewash India 3-0 in a Test series on Indian soil. After registering record-creating losses in the first two-Tests, the Indian team lost the third and final match of the three-match series by a margin of 25 runs. The third game of the series at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai turned out to be the first occasion where India suffered a whitewash on Indian soil.
This is the first time that India suffered whitewash with more than three or more matches. The last time India were defeated at home was in 2000 when they lost the series 0-2 against South Africa. Notably, in the opening match, the Kiwis recorded an eight-wickets win for their first Test win in India after 36 years. They recorded their first-ever series win over India on Indian soil with their 113-run win in the second Test.
In the third game, India needed 147 runs to record a win but the batters collapsed as Ajaz Patel recorded a match-haul for 11/160. In the second innings, Mat Henry dismissed Rohit Sharma for 11, followed by Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli’s dismissal. Indian batters could record only 121 runs before they were bundled out by the Kiwis mercilessly.
After a humiliating loss, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said, “Losing a series, losing a Test is never easy, it's something that's not easily digestible. Again, we didn't play our best cricket, we know and we have to accept. They (New Zealand) did so much better than us throughout the series. We made a lot of mistakes and we'll have to accept it. We didn't put enough runs on the board in the 1st innings (in Bengaluru and Pune) and we were very much behind in the game, here, we got a 30-run lead, we thought we were ahead, the target was achievable as well, all we had to do was to show a bit of application which we failed to do. Chasing such a target, you want runs on the board as well, that's something that was there in my mind (on his own batting today), it didn't come off and when it happens, it doesn't look great.”
He added, “From a personal point of view, I wasn't at my best with both bat and as a captain, that's something that'll rankle me. But we didn't perform well collectively and that's the reason for these losses.”
