India's captain Rohit Sharma plays a shot during the third day of the second Test cricket match between India and New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Saturday. — AFP

Following a surprising series defeat by New Zealand, India's skipper Rohit Sharma expressed that there is an excessive expectation placed on the frontline spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. He emphasized the need for a more collective bowling effort to secure test match victories. Rohit's team suffered an eight-wicket loss in the opening match in Bengaluru and a 113-run defeat in Pune on Saturday, marking the Black Caps' first-ever test series win in India. Ashwin and Jadeja, who have been pivotal in India's 18 successive home series wins since 2012, managed only eight wickets together in the second game, where the pitch favored spin.

"There's too much expectation on those two guys. Every game they play, they are expected to take wickets, they are expected to run through the team and they are expected to win tests," Rohit told reporters. "I don't think that's fair; it's the responsibility of all of us to ensure we get test wins, not just the two guys." He acknowledged that both players understand their roles and what they need to improve on. Rohit also mentioned that occasional poor performances are acceptable for the duo, and he is not overly concerned about their recent form.

"Both of them have played so much cricket here and have made significant contributions to our success in maintaining that home streak of 18 series wins. These two have played a major role in that," Rohit added. "A couple of series, I'm not going to scrutinize too much, especially with those two guys... Sometimes they're allowed to have bad games here and there, and not be judged by the expectation that this is the opportunity to run through the opposition." He concluded by stating that such performances cannot be expected every time and that other players need to be ready to step in.

The final match of the series will be held in Mumbai from Friday, after which India will travel to Australia for a five-match series.

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