Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has called on team India to win the third Test match against New Zealand and finish the series on a high. Gautam Gambhir’s former teammate reminded the Indian head coach how important the IND vs NZ final Test in Mumbai will be.
New Zealand has already won the first two Tests of the series in Bengaluru and Pune and currently leads the series 2-0.
Aakash Chopra feels that many infamous records have already been created in Gautam Gambhir’s era as Indian head coach and Gautam Gambhir would not like to see another similar record here. The third Test will be played from November 1 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Also Read: ICC Test Rankings: Kagiso Rabada dethrones Jasprit Bumrah to become No. 1 bowler
Aakash Chopra’s humble request to team India
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra spoke about the third Test match between India and New Zealand. He claimed that this match was not dead and some crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points were at stake.
He also mentioned that India has never been whitewashed in a three-match Test series at home and this is the time to save that record as well.
“It’s not a dead game. There are two things in this. First of all, we’ve never lost 3-0 in a three-game home series. We got shut out once in a two-game series, but it never happened in a home series. three”. We are also on the threshold of that record, don’t break it,” said Aakash Chopra.
“Please win this match because WTC points are also involved. You will get 33% points (for the series) if you win this match. Many infamous records have already been created during Gautam Gambhir’s tenure. So you say you don’t want to break more records,” he added.
Junk records during Gautam Gambhir era
Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as head coach of Team India began during India’s tour of Sri Lanka for three T20Is and three ODIs. While India swept Sri Lanka in the T20Is, they lost the ODI series 0-3 to the home team. It was a shocking defeat as India had not lost to Sri Lanka in an ODI series in the last 27 years.
Now, the Men in Blue have conceded a rare home Test series defeat at the hands of the Kiwis. India had not lost a Test series at home in the last 12 years, but that streak was finally broken here.
Aakash Chopra reflects on Kane Williamson’s unavailability
The former India opener reflected further on the New Zealand team and how they coped with the loss of Kane Williamson. Chopra claimed that New Zealand’s other batsmen have taken up the responsibility of filling the void created by Williamson.
“Without Kane, there is no gain. Is that true? I don’t know, because New Zealand says they don’t have any tension. Let’s be honest, if you look at this team, it hurts what we are doing. Tom Latham has been batting well in the last few innings. Apart from that, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra are playing well. Who apart from these three seems very confident or confident?
Kane Williamson was ruled out of the first two Tests of the series due to a groin strain. The former New Zealand captain was also ruled out of the third Test. However, his replacement Will Young has done a decent job at the No. 3 spot so far.