India suffers fifth consecutive batting collapse in series against New Zealand | Cricket News

New Zealand players celebrate after taking a wicket during the third test against India at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. (AP)

Even when India took the lead for the first time in the series in the third and final Test against New Zealand, there was another batting collapse from the hosts. India took a 28-run lead on the second day Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai courtesy of a great 90s show from Shubman Gill and a fiery 60s show from Rishabh Pant. Meanwhile, Washington Sundar remained unbeaten on 38 runs.
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At the other end, Ajaz Patel took five wickets at a venue where he had plenty of success. The left-arm spinner's superb bowling after the lunch session took his total tally at Wankhede to 19 wickets.
With the pitch increasingly favoring spinners as the Test progresses, India would not be happy with a lead of just 28 runs. But once again a batting slump let them down – as it has throughout the series.

At the end of Friday, India lost three wickets for six runs, with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mohammed Siraj and Virat Kohli falling in just eight balls.
On Saturday, India didn't give up as dramatically, but conceded six wickets for 83 runs. The hosts went from 180/4 in the 38th minute to 263 in the 60th minute.
In the previous two Tests, played in Bengaluru and Pune respectively, India's batting weaknesses were clearly exposed as they were repeatedly outclassed by the New Zealand bowlers.
In the first Test, India were bowled out for just 46 runs – their lowest Test total at home – and were then dismissed for 462 runs in the second innings. In the second essay, India had lost seven wickets for 54 runs.
In the second Test, India went from 50/1 to 103/7 – losing six wickets for 53 runs – and then six wickets for 71 runs in the second innings (96/1 to 167/7).
After such an unfortunate batting performance, it is no wonder that India have already lost the Test series and thus have an enviable record of wins in the home Test series. With New Zealand's victory in the first two Tests, they ended India's streak of 12 years and 18 home games Test series wins.