"The mirror does not lie" - Aakash Chopra on India's multiple batting collapses due to defensive frailties in IND vs NZ 2024 Test series

Aakash Chopra has blamed India's inability to bat defensively for their loss in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand. He pointed out that the hosts suffered multiple collapses due to their defensive frailties.

New Zealand beat India by 113 runs in the second Test in Pune on Saturday, October 26. The win helped them take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, having already won the first game in Bengaluru by eight wickets.

During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Chopra was asked about India suffering a batting collapse in every innings during the series and their defensive issues, especially against spin.

"We are no longer used to batting defensively because we play a different kind of cricket. It is clearly evident. The mirror does not lie. So you have to look at the mirror and agree that you committed mistakes. A collapse means wickets falling one after the other," he responded.

The former India opener pointed out that once a wicket has fallen, the incoming batter needs to get his eye in before playing his shots.

"To have a gap between two wickets, you need to spend some time. How will you play when a new batter comes after a wicket has fallen? It's Test cricket, so it's obvious that you will give yourself time. You will defend a little first and then start hitting once you get set. You need the defensive play to stop collapses," Chopra elaborated.

India were decently placed at 96/1 in pursuit of a 359-run target in Pune. However, they were then reduced to 167/7, losing six wickets for 71 runs, and eventually bowled out for 245.

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"You can stop a collapse by playing aggressively once in a while but it won't happen repeatedly" - Aakash Chopra

Rishabh Pant was run out in India's second innings while attempting a non-existent single. [P/C: BCCI]

In the same discussion, Aakash Chopra noted that a collapse can rarely be prevented through an aggressive approach.

"You can stop a collapse by playing aggressively once in a while but it won't happen repeatedly. Test cricket will repeatedly tell you that you need to play out sessions. You have to even play a session where a wicket doesn't fall at all," he said.

The reputed commentator added that while the current Indian batters are unable to play out a session, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman batted an entire day against Australia on multiple occasions.

"We were talking about 2001 being an unparalleled year where we conceded a lead of more than 100 runs in two successive games. However, then we played an entire day and didn't lose a wicket. That happened in Kolkata. Then we went to Adelaide and played an entire day and didn't lose a wicket. We are now talking about whether we can bat a session without losing a wicket if the pitch is slightly challenging," Chopra recalled.

Laxman and Dravid stitched together a 376-run fifth-wicket partnership after Australia enforced the follow-on in the 2001 Kolkata Test. The duo subsequently added 303 runs for the fifth wicket in the 2003 Adelaide Test after India were reduced to 85/4 in response to Australia's first-innings total of 556, with Sourav Ganguly's side eventually winning both games.