India’s Test decline under Gambhir: Results that have shaken Indian cricket

Guwahati, Nov 24: Gautam Gambhir’s stint as India’s head coach, which began on July 9, 2024, has been marked by turbulence in the longest format.
In 18 Test matches since his appointment, India have mustered only seven wins, drawn two fixtures, and slumped to nine defeats — an unusually poor run for a team once considered almost untouchable at home. Here are ten results that have raised eyebrows across the cricketing fraternity.
India’s long-standing home dominance took a major hit when New Zealand stunned them in Bengaluru, sealing an eight-wicket victory. It was India’s first Test defeat at home to the Kiwis in 36 years, a result that sent shockwaves through the cricketing world.
That match also produced an astonishing collapse. For the first time in the history of home Test cricket, India were bundled out for fewer than 50 runs, skittled for a miserable 46 in the first innings — a statistic that will haunt Indian cricket for years.
New Zealand didn’t stop there. The visitors swept the entire series 3–0, handing India their first-ever home Test series defeat to the Black Caps. This marked India’s first Test series loss on home soil since December 2012, breaking a decade-long fortress built across multiple coaching regimes.
The second Test of that series, played in Pune, added another unwanted record. India’s 113-run defeat meant they suffered successive home Test losses for the first time since 2012 — a sign of deeper structural cracks.
Mumbai witnessed yet another historic low. In November 2024, India failed to chase a target under 200 at home for the first time. One year later, at Eden Gardens, the pattern repeated as India again faltered chasing just 124 — a batting implosion that triggered widespread criticism.
The 3–0 defeat to New Zealand in late 2024 also marked the first time India had ever been whitewashed in a home Test series comprising three or more matches.
That result alone cemented the tour as one of India’s most disastrous in modern times.
A broader slump soon followed. For the first time in ten years, India dropped consecutive Test series, raising uncomfortable questions about the team’s direction and consistency.
The struggles continued overseas as well. In June 2025 at Headingley, India became the first side in Test history to lose a match despite having five batters score centuries in the same game — a bizarre, record-setting defeat that highlighted glaring issues in balance and execution.
And the setbacks kept coming. India’s loss to South Africa at home in the first Test was their first such defeat in over 15 years, yet another milestone that underscored how their once intimidating home aura had begun to fade.
Taken together, these results paint a worrying picture of India’s Test trajectory during Gambhir’s tenure. Whether this is a temporary phase or a sign of deeper decline is a question the team — and its management — will have to confront sooner rather than later. (Agencies)