IND vs NZ: 3 Reasons For New Zealand’s Staggering Historic Test Series Win Against India

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In an unexpected turn of events, New Zealand triumphed over India in each of the first two Tests, making it India’s first Test series loss in India since 2012. Tom Latham’s men have now made history, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match Test series.  New Zealand won the match by a margin of 113 runs and looked quite ruthless across all the 3 departments of the game.

Rohit Sharma‘s men were outplayed on numerous occasions, with the Blackcaps emerging victorious in both Bengaluru and Pune. 

On that note, let us look at 4 reasons behind New Zealand’s staggering series win against India:

1) A historic first session for the New Zealand bowlers

Rohit Sharma won the toss in Bengaluru and decided to have a bat in the first Test. While he would have hoped to post a decent first innings total, it was a case of serious misjudgement of conditions. The pitch did not have demons in it, but it was certainly not a batting track, at least with rain and clouds around. 

Within the first hour, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were back in the hut. Some exceptional pace bowling, along with movement in the air and off the pitch, and some good use of the crease, saw New Zealand pick six wickets by lunch. 

The fielders did justice to the bowlers’ efforts, grabbing some stunners in the field to get rid of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav.

It took Matt Henry, William O’Rourke and Tim Southee only a session and a half to wrap up the Indian innings, with Matt Henry completing his 5-fer with his 100th Test wicket and William O’Rourke notching 4 crucial scalps.

India were bowled out for an embarassing total of 46, their lowest ever at home and third lowest overall in Test cricket. This set the tone for New Zealand, and after such a start, a win was almost certain. 

2) Rachin Ravindra and Tim Southee guiding New Zealand to a mammoth 356-run first innings lead in the opening Test

After being bundled out for 46 runs, India needed their bowlers to ensure that New Zealand does not run away with the game with too big a lead. 

India were in control of the game after they reduced New Zealand to 233-7, with a reasonable lead of 187. Had they sealed the innings quick enough from that stage, maybe India could have caught a whiff of resurgence. Things, however, continued to go from bad to worse for the hosts.

The young Rachin Ravindra, with solid support from the veteran Tim Southee, knitted a resilient 137-run stand for the 8th wicket. They looked untroubled, scoring at over 6.2 runs an over during the partnership. 

Rachin Ravindra absolutely toyed with the field, finding the fence at will, while Tim Southee did not bother holding back, scoring 65 invaluable runs in the process.

This partnership guided New Zealand to a 356-run lead, leaving India with a steeper mountain to climb, almost pushing them to the brink of defeat. 

3) Using the fresh cherry to perfection in the third innings of the first Test

With a 356-run deficit to cover, and a defendable target to post, the Indian batters needed to step up, which they did. Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, all came to the party, putting India in a commanding position at 408-3. At that stage, India were effectively 52-3.

What followed was a landslide of wickets. The second new ball turned the tide, and some disciplined bowling from New Zealand’s pace trio saw the Indian batters drop like dominoes. 

From 408-3, India saw themselves all out at 462, losing their last 7 wickets for just 54 runs. 

A target of 107 was never going to threaten the Kiwis, but cautious batting from the Indians could have led them to a more challenging total.

4) Keeping India’s best performers from the first Test quiet in Pune

New Zealand won the toss in the second Test at Pune, and opted to bat first. They posted 259 runs in the first innings.

The difference this time around was the pitch. Right from Day 1, this looked like a typical Indian track. It was evident that there was turn and bounce, and that it would only get tougher to bat as the game progresses. Keeping that in mind, New Zealand’s total was a substantial one.

India never got going in their first innings, losing their skipper in just the third over. All of India’s best performers with the bat from the first Test were contained effectively.

Mitchell Santner wreaked havoc on a pitch that was assisting spinners, picking up 7 wickets in the first innings and 6 in the second. He was spot on with his lengths, and masterfully used the slowness of the pitch to his advantage. This is something Indian spinners did not do quite as well, with Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin firing it in or bowling 5-10 kph quicker than what was required on this surface.

None of Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were able to score more than 18 runs in an innings across the second Test. It was only Yashasvi Jaiswal who threatened to pull off something miraculous in the fourth innings of the game, but he too was undone by a gripping and turning delivery from Glenn Phillips.

Also Read: Pat Cummins Rules Out David Warner’s Return For India Tests


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