IND vs NZ | India will need to go back to drawing board, admits Virat Kohli

Heading into the Tests series with seven wins under their belt, sitting mighty at the top of the World Test Championship table, India were humbled by a clinical New Zealand side who handed the visitors forgettable drubbings in each of the two Tests. India, in both Wellington and Christchurch, had no answers to the questions posed by New Zealand and were outplayed by the hosts in all three aspects of the game, something that reflected on the overall result. 

Speaking in the aftermath of the defeat, skipper Virat Kohli, who suffered his whitewash as a Test captain, admitted that his side will have to go back to the drawing board and take a good look at where they went wrong. The Indian skipper further attested that there was no excuse for not playing to the best of the ability in international cricket but said that the series would serve as a learning curve for the team.

“Disappointing, have to go back to the drawing board and correct things going forward. Toss, you could think about it being a factor, but we don't complain. It did give an extra advantage to the bowlers in each Test but as an international side, you're expected to understand that,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation, reported ESPN Cricinfo.

“We accept it upfront and if we have to win away from home, we have to do that. No excuses, just learning moving forward. In Tests, we weren't able to play the cricket we wanted to."

After his side’s ten-wicket defeat in the first Test in Wellington, the 31-year-old stressed on the lack of intent showed by the batsmen and post the defeat in Christchurch, Kohli touched upon the same and also admitted that his side’s execution was not quite up to the mark. The Indian skipper further accepted that the batsmen let the side down and attested that the bowlers were unlucky to have not reaped the rewards he thought they deserved. 

"It was a matter of not having enough intent in the first game, and not closing out here. We didn't bowl in the right areas for long enough. They created a lot of pressure. It was a combination of us not executing well enough and New Zealand sticking to their plans. 

“The batsmen didn't do enough for the bowlers to try and attack. The bowling was good, I thought even in Wellington we bowled well. Sometimes if you bowl well and things don't happen, you have to take it in your stride.”

India's next assignment in the World Test Championship will be a four-Test series against Australia Down Under, that will commence after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in the same country.