'Played very soft cricket': Ravichandran Ashwin pulls no punches after India lose ODI series at home to New Zealand

Following India’s first-ever ODI series defeat to New Zealand at home, former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin said the team’s response to the challenge posed by the visitors looked "a bit flat" and felt New Zealand had effectively won the series "5-0".The series win was a landmark moment for a Michael Bracewell-led New Zealand side that toured India without several regular players. Contributions from Daryl Mitchell, Jayden Lennox, Glenn Phillips and Kristian Clarke helped the visitors recover from a loss in the opening ODI and clinch the series 2-1.In the third and final ODI, New Zealand posted 337/8 after being asked to bat. India were reduced to 71/4 in the chase, but partnerships involving Virat Kohli (124), Nitish Kumar Reddy (53) and Harshit Rana (52) brought the hosts back into the game. New Zealand, however, struck at key moments to secure a 41-run win and seal the series.The result marked New Zealand’s first ODI series win in India. It came a little over a year after New Zealand handed India a 3-0 Test series defeat at home in 2024, India’s first Test series loss on home soil in 12 years.Speaking on his YouTube show ‘Ash ki Baat’, Ashwin said the series could soon fade from memory depending on results in upcoming tournaments."Everything will be forgotten now. There is the T20 World Cup and the IPL now. So, if the environment is there, things will go accordingly. We all know this. But if the T20 World Cup does not go well and people do not perform in the IPL too, there will be pressure on them. But if everything goes well, this series will be forgotten. In my books, New Zealand won the series 5-0. They won two but threatened to win one more too, so it was actually a sweep," Ashwin said.Ashwin added that he was unsure whether the issues stemmed from preparation or readiness, but felt India’s response under pressure was lacking."I thought if India even plays their B or C teams, they can beat sides. I am a little worried now that this has nothing to do with the team's quality. Looking from the outside, I think the Indian team's response has been a bit flat. That response is not there. Always, when the team has been put under pressure, the Indian team has found ways in the past and has shown that habit. I just felt that the response felt flat, and that was disappointing. I do not think we put them under pressure. We played very soft cricket," he concluded.In the final ODI, centuries from Daryl Mitchell (137 not out) and Glenn Phillips (106) took New Zealand to 337/8, despite Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh picking up three wickets each. After slipping to 5/2 and then 58/3, Mitchell and Phillips added 219 runs to take control of the innings.India’s chase began poorly, but an 88-run stand between Kohli and Reddy, followed by a 99-run partnership between Kohli and Rana, kept the hosts in contention. Kohli scored 124 off 108 balls, but once he was dismissed, India lost the remaining wickets and were bowled out for 296 in 46 overs, handing New Zealand a 2-1 series win.