Anil Kumble attacks these players for India's shambolic Test series loss at home vs New Zealand

Legendary India cricketer Anil Kumble has urged the Indian batters to step up and start scoring runs. Indian batting has been highly disappointing in the first two Tests against New Zealand.

Senior batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been at the forefront of this batting failure. Being the senior players of the team, they were expected to lead India's charge but their form has not been great, resulting in continuous low scores.

As a result, India has conceded two shocking defeats at the hands of the visitors. New Zealand have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series with one more game to go.

Also read: "Have some shame" - Sanjay Manjrekar blasted for defending India's series loss to New Zealand at home

India have made things harder for themselves, claims Anil Kumble

While speaking on Jio Cinema after the match, Anil Kumble stressed the importance of winning the final Test at Mumbai to be in contention for the World Test Championship final.

Anil Kumble feels that India have made things harder for themselves after the defeats in the first two Tests of the series. He mentioned that the upcoming Tests will be hard for India against a confident New Zealand team and a strong Australian team.

"I think that's the beauty of the WTC. Although the series is over for India, each Test match remains crucial. They've made things harder for themselves. At the start of the series, we talked about needing five wins to comfortably reach the championship final," Kumble said.

"But now, with four wins required from the next six matches, it's even tougher, especially with one game against this confident New Zealand side at Wankhede and five more in Australia," he added.

"The batting needs to step up" - Anil Kumble

Talking about India's chances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, Anil Kumble reckoned that qualifying for the WTC final will be a challenging task now and the batting needs to step up.

"India have done exceptionally well in their last two series in Australia, but qualifying now is even more challenging. They need to get their act together," Kumble noted.

"The batting has been disappointing, and though the bowling will continue to face challenges, India are at the top because their bowlers have consistently taken those 20 wickets. The batting needs to step up and deliver runs," he added.

India's batting has badly suffered in this series. They were shot out for just 46 in the first innings of the first Test at Bengaluru which ultimately paved the way for New Zealand to win. In the second Test, India were bowled out for 156, giving New Zealand a handy first-innings lead of 103 runs.

India's qualification scenario

India are still at the top of the World Test Championship rankings even after two home defeats to New Zealand. The Men in Blue now need to win the last Test at Mumbai at any cost and then win three Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

If they manage to do it, their winning points percentage will stand at 64.04% which will ensure their place in the WTC final. However, doing this won't be a straightforward task for Rohit Sharma and his men, especially after the recent low.