"Top 5 Batters...": Ex India Star Tears Into Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Others After Pune Test Loss

Former cricketer Madan Lal opened up on India's defeat to New Zealand in the second Test match of the series and said that Rishabh Pant's run out on Day 3 was the turning point of the game. Tom Latham's New Zealand team made history by defeating Rohit's side by 113 runs in the second Test match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Saturday, clinching their first-ever series win in India. This loss marks India's first home Test series defeat since 2012, ending an 18-series winning streak--the longest home winning sequence for any team.

New Zealand now lead the three-match Test series 2-0, with the final game set for November 1 at Mumbai's iconic Wankhede Stadium.

Speaking to ANI, Madan Lal said that Pant is the kind of batter who can turn the match around for which his dismissal was the turning point. The former cricketer added that India's batting order failed in the Pune Test.

"Rishabh Pant's run out was the turning point in the match because he is that kind of batter who can turn the match around but sometimes you misjudge and pay for your mistakes but my only point is that there was no need to prepare such a wicket because you cannot guarantee winning a toss. You know that you have to bat in the fourth innings and in the fourth innings there is a lot of wear and tear. Moreover, on a spinning track 200-250 runs also become difficult to get. So, you make good wickets and I guarantee that you would win as you have the best pace attack. You nullified both pacers and our spinners are world-class. Our batting failed completely. Out top 5 batters failed to score runs," Madan Lal told ANI.

He added that Rohit Sharma-led side doesn't have to think about the World Test Championship (WTC) final now. The