Last Updated on 3 months by Charbel Coorey
“We have won 18 series [in a row] in India, which means we’ve done a lot of things well,” Rohit Sharma said after India’s loss against New Zealand in Pune. “We’ve batted well in the first innings; we’ve batted well in the second innings. Perhaps we haven’t batted as well in this series as we should have, but these things happen. Our batters have consistently made runs on challenging pitches whenever we have played in India, so I don’t want to overthink and say we’ve gone topsy-turvy. Our batters have had two poor matches – two or three innings, if you look at it. But these things happen.”
While Rohit’s defense of his team’s performance is understandable, how accurate is this assessment?
Without needing to delve into statistics, anyone who has watched India play Test matches in Asia in recent years can recognise a recurring theme: the lower order frequently steps up to rescue the team when the top six falters. Off the top of my head, Ashwin and Jadeja bailed the team out in Chennai against Bangladesh (with Ashwin also scoring a century against England in 2021), Jurel contributed a critical 90 in his debut series against England earlier in 2024, and Axar consistently made key contributions in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Ashwin also delivered vital lower-order runs in Bangladesh, including the fourth innings in Mirpur, while Jadeja has remained a dependable presence throughout.
Perhaps the one time the lower order failed to bail the team out, India ended up losing a home Test series for the first time in 12 years.
Rohit statement on collapses, the statistical realities: The top six struggles
From 2013 to 2020, the Indian top six averaged 53.85 in Tests in Asia, with all batters who played a minimum of 10 matches averaging over 40. Virat Kohli stood out, scoring 3,451 runs at an average of 66.36, including 13 centuries. However, since 2020, the numbers have significantly declined, with the top six averaging just 37.95 in Tests in Asia. Among the nine batters who have played eight or more Tests during this period, only four have managed to average over 40.
Of course, much of this can be attributed to the pitches India has played on. Since 2020, the average runs per wicket in Tests involving India in Asia has dropped to 27.69, down from 32.32 during the 2013-2020 phase. Interestingly, though, India’s lower order (Nos. 7-9), which averaged 28.22 from 2013 to 2020, has not only maintained but slightly improved its performance, averaging 29.55 post-2020.
The gap between the averages of the top six and the lower order, which was 25.63 in 2013-2020, has now shrunk to just 8.4. Even when considering Jarrod Kimber’s analysis that highlights how batting has been toughest during overs 21-40 in home Tests — due to the lacquer coming off while the ball remains hard, allowing it to grip and turn at pace — and that conditions generally improve over time, peaking during overs 61-80 as the ball softens, the drop from 25.63 to 8.4 is staggering, and truly reflects the struggles of India’s mainstream batters in the subcontinent.
