Why team India losing its home dominance to teams like New Zealand first in Tests, now in ODIs
Why team India losing its home dominance to teams like New Zealand first in Tests, now in ODIs. Take a look and find out.
For a long time, Team India has been one of the toughest teams of all time. Every visiting team faces trouble competing with the Indian team on their soil. However, the fear of dominance is their great performances and key players as well.
Team India are still the no.1 because of their great players, like star spinner and one of the finest pacers. They are also dominating because of their calm and strong batting-line up. However, things are changing. After the unforgettable test series between India and New Zealand.
In 2024, the whole cricket world was shocked, when the visiting team, New Zealand, got a dominating victory over India in a three-match test series. The visitors clinched the series 3-0. However, the story was repeated but in different formats.
In January 2026, New Zealand beat team India in the ODI series by 2-1. With this big win. The fans are in deep stress as they are witnessing team India’s dominance on home soil fading.
New Zealand creates history
New Zealand has won its first ODI series against India. Since 1988, New Zealand has played a total of eight series in India, with this victory being its first. Previously, in 2024, India also lost a Test series 0-3 to New Zealand.
This is India’s first defeat after winning seven ODIs in Indore. This is the first time since October 2022 that India has lost an ODI at home after winning the toss, after winning 13 consecutive matches.
However, there is one big problem: Team India’s performance at home is getting weaker. There are a lot of things India needs to work on. Indian captain Shubman Gill also pointed out the team’s mistakes after the brutal loss against New Zealand in the ODI series.
”I honestly felt our fielding in this series was not up to the mark. We dropped some crucial catches, and it’s not easy for bowlers to create chances on wickets like this. It’s an aspect I think we really have to get better at.
”These were the big differences between the two teams: their batsmen converted their starts. And New Zealand were better in the field, they must have saved at least 15-20 runs today. These make a big difference,” he added.
Team India’s struggle in spin bowling
Team India’s bowling line up has always been their key component for their matches at home. However, in the ODI series against New Zealand. The spinners performance was poor as the star player Kuldeep Yadav is known for magical bowling and wicket taking abilities. In the ODI series India’s off-spinner Kuldeep Yadav failed to make an impact. He conceded runs at an average of 60.67 in three matches and took just three wickets. Kuldeep Yadav’s failure was one of the major reasons for India’s defeat.
Indian captain Shubman Gill also shared his opinion of Kuldeep Yadav’s performance against New Zealand in the ODI series.
âSometimes, it happens. Kuldeep (Yadav), the way he has been bowling in the last couple of years: he has always been a strike bowler for us. It’s unfortunate that he was not able to take as many wickets this time. These are the reasons these kind of series’ help us grow,” Gill said.
Poor fielding performance against New Zealand
In recent times, Team India’s poor fielding performance is the major factor in their losses at home. However, the captain, Shubman Gill, also pointed out the poor fielding in the third ODI against New Zealand. Gill said, “Honestly, I felt our fielding wasn’t up to par this series. We dropped some crucial catches, and it’s not easy for bowlers to create opportunities on such wickets. New Zealand’s fielding was better; they should have saved at least 15-20 runs today. That makes a big difference.“
Disappointment from legendary players
Poor performance from star Indian players and one of the experienced cricketers, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma in India’s defeat. India’s most experienced all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, failed to make an impact with both bat and ball. He went wicketless in three matches. With the bat, Jadeja scored just 43 runs at an average of 14.33. He hit just one four in the entire series.
Cricket fans had high hopes for India’s legendary batsman Rohit Sharma. However, his bat remained completely silent in this series. He scored just 61 runs in three matches at an average of 20.33. Rohit’s flop performance was a major reason for Team India’s defeat.
Shubman Gill’s captaincy under spotlight
Here are the stats of star Indian player Shubman Gill as Team India ODI captain. However, Gillâs stats as Indian team leader are not impressive at all. As a captain, Shubman has played 6 matches with 2 wins and 4 losses with a win percentage of 33.33%.
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