IND vs NZ, 3rd Test: Ex-India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar finally opened up after India lost the home Test series to New Zealand and described it as a tough pill to swallow. He slammed the Men in Blue and asked where they had gone wrong and said that it was time to introspect. But he heaped praises on Shubman Gill for his gritty knock of 90 runs during the first innings and also praised Rishabh Pant for his double half-centuries and the way he batted on such a tricky surface. It was the first time since 2012 years that the hosts had lost a Test series at home as New Zealand defeated India 3-0.

"Losing 3-0 at home is a tough pill to swallow, and it calls for introspection. Was it a lack of preparation, was it poor shot selection, or was it lack of match practice? Shubman Gill showed resilience in the first innings, and Rishabh Pant was brilliant in both innings- his footwork made a challenging surface look like a different one altogether. He was simply superb," Tendulkar had written on his official X account.

He also praised the Tom Latham-led side for their consistent performances throughout the series.

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"Full credit to New Zealand for their consistent performance throughout the series. Winning 3-0 in India is as good a result as it can get," he concluded.

IND vs NZ: As it happened

The Tom Latham-led side scripted history by defeating India 3-0 in the Test series in Mumbai, where they won the last match by 25 runs. It's the first time that India has been clean-swept at home in the longest format. New Zealand has become just the fourth team to clean sweep a series against India and has joined teams like England, Australia, and West Indies to do so. It was also the first time that New Zealand had won a three-match Test series in away conditions and also the first time that they had won three consecutive away Test matches.

The Rohit Sharma-led side failed to fire on a spin-friendly pitch while chasing a target of 147 runs. In the first eight overs, more than half of the batters had walked back to the pavilion and were reeling at 29/5. Rishabh Pant did try to help the team bounce back by playing a gritty knock of 64 runs but became a victim of a controversial dismissal. Ajaz Patel took a six-for and helped his team skittle India out for 121 runs.