According to a report in The Indian Express, the team management, comprising captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir, urged Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to summon 35 net bowlers during India’s practice session at the Wankhede Stadium. It was India’s first full-fledged training session since the series loss in Pune, which was followed by a two-day break.

India’s request for extra net bowlers, where the key focus was on spinners, was down to the fact that they were troubled by left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner in the second Test last week. The New Zealand bowler had picked 13 wickets for 157 runs, comprising a five-wicket haul in both innings, as he recorded the third-best figures by a visiting bowler in India.

Moreover, in another desperate attempt to avoid a whitewash at home, India, in search of a consolation victory and to keep their hopes alive of qualifying for the World Test Championship, demanded a rank turner in Mumbai.

India out to avoid a 24-year first

New Zealand became the first team in 12 years to end India’s historic home dominance in Test cricket, which comprised 18 straight wins in a series, dating back to 2013. They beat India in Bengaluru in the rain-marred series opener by eight wickets, before Santner helped them script a 113-run win in the second Test in Pune.

While New Zealand now stand on the cusp of scripting a third whitewash over India and a second clean sweep against a team on Asian soil after their 2-0 win against Bangladesh in 2004, Rohit and his men stand on the verge of incurring a first whitewash at home since India’s 0-2 loss against South Africa in 2000, which remains their only ever whitewash on home soil.