"There's something seriously wrong...": Anil Kumble on India's batting against NZ spinners

Anil Kumble. Pic/AFP

Former Team India cricketer Anil Kumble has said that there is something wrong with the Indian batsmen's approach against spin and they need to sit and look after it.

Team India skittled as New Zealand's spin duo Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips guided their side to a 25-run victory at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This also marked New Zealand becoming the first team to hand over a series whitewash to Team India.

Speaking on JioCinema, Kumble said that the batters failed to make any adjustments against spin.

"This has consistently happened over the last three Test matches. Whenever the spinners come on, there hasn't been a noticeable improvement from one game to the next. A couple of players have made certain adjustments, which has helped in the batting lineup, but collectively, as a batting unit, they haven't been able to avoid those collapses. This has happened far too often in a single session, which is a concern," said Kumble.

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"For this lineup to say, 'There's nothing wrong'--I think there's something seriously wrong here. The most challenging part is accepting that there's a problem. I'm sure that when this Indian team sits down to introspect, they'll recognize that there is indeed a serious issue that needs to be addressed," he added.

Anil Kumble further stated that while Ajaz Patel was expected to be dangerous, what was surprising for him was the support he got from his fellow teammate, Glenn Phillips who snapped eight wickets in the three-match Test series.

"I thought he bowled very well, sticking to disciplined areas. Of course, they were under pressure when Rishabh Pant was at the crease, but outside of that, New Zealand seemed confident that if they could dismiss (Rishabh) Pant, they would have a strong chance. And that is exactly how it played out," he concluded.

The entire series was full of collapses for Team India. In the first Test at Bengaluru, India was skittled out for just 46 runs after electing to bat first on a pace-friendly wicket in overcast conditions and in the next innings, they faced another batting collapse just after getting a lead, giving NZ a target of just 107 runs.

In the second Test, India did bundle out the Kiwis for 259 in the first innings, but they faced another poor batting outing to be all out for 156 runs. Later, while chasing 359 runs, Indian stars disappointed once again, skittling out for 245 runs after being 127/2 at one point.

In the third and final Test in Mumbai, it was another low-scoring affair and India was presented it with perhaps its easiest chase of the series: 147 runs. However, except for a fighting fifty from Rishabh Pant, the Indian batting fell like a pack of cards and was bundled out for 121 runs.

The embarrassment of losing a Test series by a whitewash at home and sliding down to second place in the World Test Championship (WTC) table could very well fire up the Indian team for being at their best during the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

The Border-Gavaskar series between India and Australia will begin on November 22, with the first Test at Perth.

(With ANI Inputs)