New realms
Sir — My aunt, who once had the plotlines of saas-bahu daily soaps on her fingertips, left me gaping by telling me that Kang Ji-won and Yu Ji-hyuk (the protagonists of a popular Korean drama) had finally confessed their love to each other. On yet another occasion, my friend’s mother, who usually spends three hours every morning chanting slokas, let slip a cuss word, which she cheerfully claimed to have learnt from Mirzapur. The world of OTT has introduced to Indian women content that is far removed from the family drama that they witness first-hand at home anyway and they are lapping it up. There is thus no such thing as a specific target audience anymore.
Ishita Basu,
Calcutta
Fallen heroes
Sir — In a forensic analysis of India’s 3-0 series defeat against New Zealand, the credit must go to the bravado of the Kiwis. They did not let India’s reputation as one of the foremost Test-playing sides daunt them. India, on their part, left viewers questioning the basis for their stellar reputation. In this series, Virat Kohli has been a pale shadow of his former self, giving redoubtable proof that he is a diminished force. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan, touted to be the future of Indian batting, floundered on several occasions, succumbing to the pressure. The veterans in the present Indian side are clearly past their prime and the juniors are not adequately prepared for the intense pressure of an international outing, even on home ground.
Vinay Asawa,
Howrah
Sir — India needed their two superstar batsmen to make a contribution on the tricky pitch at the Wankhede Stadium in the run-chase during the third and final Test of the series against New Zealand. Instead, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were dismissed cheaply in the second innings. Sharma’s average of 15.16 is the worst of his Test career in a series where he played at least three matches. Kohli’s 15.50, too, is the worst average of his Test career at home where he has batted in at least six innings. The two must introspect on their performance and undertake course correction. If they think their playing days are now behind them, they should make way for younger players who need playing experience to be able to withstand pressure.
C.K. Subramaniam,
Mumbai
Sir — In response to India losing the three-Test series against New Zealand, the former Indian all-rounder, Irfan Pathan, highlighted that the senior Indian batsmen have not played enough red ball cricket on turning pitches at home in recent years. This is an extremely valid point. Rohit Sharma has not played a Ranji Trophy fixture since 2015 and Virat Kohli since 2012. Playing the Duleep Trophy in September would have been an ideal preparation for the two. But they chose a break — understandably given how punishing the cricket calendar has become with the inclusion of tournaments like the Indian Premier League. The home conditions during this series thus seemed alien to them. This was never the case with the all-time greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman who kept going back to domestic cricket whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Indranil Sanyal,
Calcutta
Sir — New Zealand have whitewashed India 3-0. It has been a collective performance from their side with different players stepping up in the three matches. If it was Rachin Ravindra’s sublime ton at Bengaluru that won the game, Mitchell Santner’s willy spin in Pune and Ajaz Patel’s consistent line and length on a rank turning pitch in Mumbai helped the Kiwis outshine the Men in Blue. Will Young has been the backbone of the side through the series with the bat. In the absence of Kane Williamson, the 31-year-old looked flawless both in technique and temperament against both spin and pace and ensured that there was an anchor at the other end, allowing other batsmen to play attacking shots. There were other cameo performances by various team members. New Zealand has a side that it can be proud of.
Mangal Kumar Das,
South 24 Parganas
Sir — Tom Latham, in his first assignment as New Zealand’s full-time captain, engineered a coup that has few parallels in cricket history. No contest was expected between the spin-bowling resources of the two teams. But contrary to expectations, it
was Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who were out-bowled by the
visitors. Will Young had the unenviable task of stepping into the big void created by Kane Williamson’s absence and he did an admirable job. Latham, Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell played at least one match-defining innings each in the series. If anyone attempts a post-mortem of the debacle against the Kiwis, hubris would be the biggest factor that went against India.
Vijay Singh Adhikari,
Nainital
Sir — India’s seemingly invincible home Test record has crumbled. The core quartet of the Indian team, consisting of the skipper, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja — all pedigreed stars with great career records — is in the twilight of their careers. Even if all four players are selected to play the upcoming series in Australia, the selectors have to gradually find their replacements.
Ramesh G. Jethwani,
Bengaluru
