It took New Zealand two weeks of brilliant cricket to achieve what they have been trying for the past 55 years, since their first Test win on Indian soil during the tour of 1969-70. In fact, that maiden win came 14 years after their first tour of the subcontinent in 1955, and post that the Kiwis managed to win just a solitary Test under John Wright’s captaincy during their tour in 1988 until Tom Latham’s men broke the jinx in Bengaluru last week and went on to better it on Saturday with a 113-run triumph in Pune to seal the three-match rubber 2-0 with one Test to go.
“It is obviously a special feeling. Very proud to be up here. It is a team effort. This game was a clear example of everyone stepping up at the right times. Very special,” a proud Latham said.
For India, this was their first ever series loss that broke a dominant run of 18 consecutive home series victories, after 12 years, ever since Alastair Cook’s side inflicted a 2-1 defeat in 2012. Unlike the past, such results impact a team’s fortunes in the World Test Championships, and while India still manage to hold on to their lead in the WTC points table, the gap at the top is not a lot now.
The series loss could be a big reality check for India ahead of the crucial five-Test series against Australia DownUnder, and the team management led by Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir will have a lot to ponder upon if the two-time WTC finalists are to stay in the race to their third WTC final appearance from June 11-15, 2025 at the Lord’s.
Meanwhile, for the BlackCaps, it was also one of the rare occasions when a spinner bowled them to a Test win on his own. In Pune, where the pitch was predicted to offer turn, the visitors brought in their second-choice tweaker in Mitchell Santner, predominantly a white-ball specialist, and with never more than three wickets in an innings or six in a match. In a matter of 48 hours, the left-arm spinner rose from a second-choice option to a match-winner after returning with match figures of 13 for 157, the third-best by any visiting bowler in India.
Santner bowled 29 overs on the trot for six wickets in India’s second essay to go with his unbroken spell of 19.3 overs in the first innings for 7 for 53 to help New Zealand breach India’s fortress. His figures are now the third-best for a New Zealand bowler behind Richard Hadlee’s 15/123 against Australia at the Gabba in 1985 and Ajaz Patel’s 14/224 at the Wankhede Stadium three years ago.
Having endured a disappointing series in spin-friendly conditions of Sri Lanka last month, the pressure was on Santner, not just in the context of this game but also for his red-ball future, and the left-armer put behind all those doubts to trigger yet another Indian batting collapse that saw the home team losing five wickets in a span of 40 runs during their chase of 359.
On a black soil Pune surface that was dry and spinning, Santner made full use of the conditions to spearhead New Zealand’s attack against India’s audacious bid to square the series, fuelled by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 77 off 65 that took India to 96 for 1 at better than a run a ball. Santner’s role became even more crucial because India were on an almighty roll on the third morning of the Test after triggering a 5 for 24 collapse to pack the Kiwis for 255 in their second essay, and then a sensational start to the chase by Jaiswal.
After Santner managed to draw first blood with the dismissal of Rohit Sharma, Jaiswal and Shubman Gill teamed up to add 62 runs in under 10 overs to put New Zealand in a spot of bother. But the left-arm spinner was finally rewarded for his persistence as he managed to get both Gill (23) and Jaiswal, before picking the big fish in Virat Kohli (17). Rishabh Pant perished to a mix-up in the middle without troubling the scorers, and Sarfaraz Khan had little resistance to offer on the challenging track. Washington Sundar (21) did well for sometime but lacked patience.
Ravichandran Ashwin (18) and Ravindra Jadeja (42) looked the most comfortable batting pair as they added 39 for the eighth wicket, raising hopes of India crawling back but Santner dashed those dreams by luring Ashwin into a drive that resulted in a regulation catch for the slips. Ajaz Patel completed the formalities by cleaning up the tail and India’s hopes within three days.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 259 (Conway 76, Ravindra 65, Washington 7-59, Ashwin 3-64) and 255 (Latham 86, Phillips 48*, Washington 4-56, Jadeja 3-72) beat India 156 (Jadeja 38, Santner 7-53, Phillips 2-26) and 245 (Jaiswal 77, Jadeja 42, Santner 6-104) by 113 runs.