Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips combined for nine wickets to defend 146 despite Pant’s 64 off 57 that took them from 29 for 5 to 106 for 6. Ajaz Patel ended up with an 11-wicket haul, becoming the most successful visiting bowler at a single Indian ground. New Zealand withstood the sublime genius of Rishabh Pant to enter uncharted territory: a whitewash of India in India in a series of three Tests or more
Ajaz Patel’s six-wicket haul helped New Zealand defeat India by 25 runs in the third Test on Sunday in Mumbai. This is the first time in the history of Test cricket that India got whitewashed in a three-match series at home. Chasing 147, India got a horrendous start as they kept on losing wickets regularly. Only Rishabh Pant scored 64 and kept India’s hope alive. However, he also became Ajaz Patel’s victim and departed. India ended up losing the game by 25 runs. For NZ, Ajaz Patel became the star bowler as he scalped a total of 11 wickets (5 and 6).
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : If you look at this pitch, there’s a little bit of moisture in it and hence the dark brownish color. As you look at the other pitches in the square, you can see the difference in color, it’s slightly orangish. That’s how this pitch will eventually become. It’s about understanding what happens when moisture is there. There’ll be a little bit of turn at the start and as the day progresses, it might get slightly better to bat on.
But towards the end of the day’s play and definitely tomorrow and as the game progresses, there’ll be a lot more turn. If the team winning the toss, doesn’t bat first, I’d be very surprised. In the last five Test matches, 84% of the wickets have been picked up by the spinners.
There’ll be a little bit of help for the fast bowlers as it always is in Mumbai. There is something in it for everybody. As the game progresses, it’ll tilt towards the spinners. Days one and two will be better to bat on. As the game progresses, it’s going to be hard work for the batters exclaims Dinesh Karthik and Murali Kartik in their pitch report.
Toss : New Zealand skipper Tom Latham won the toss and opted to bat with two changes in the playing XI with Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner being replaced by Ish Sodhi and Matt Henry. Team India skipper Rohit Sharma bowling first made one change in the playing XI replacing Jasprit Bumrah with Mohammad Siraj.
Day 1 : Late wickets spoils Jadeja’s 5-fer effort as India lags after being bowling out NZ for 235 all out
India lost three wickets for eight runs towards the close of play as New Zealand finished on top after the first day of the final Test in Mumbai. India were cruising towards stumps at 78/1 with Yashaswi Jaiswal (30) and Shubman Gill (31*) in full control.
However, an audacious reverse sweep from the former gifted Ajaz Patel his first wicket of the game and it opened up the floodgates for the tourists over the next ten minutes. Nightwatchman Mohammed Siraj failed at his task as he got trapped LBW by Ajaz. To make it worse, Siraj also burned a review before walking off the field.
More misery before stumps was in store for the home side as Virat Kohli went for a risky single with a drive to mid-on, only for Matt Henry to fire a direct hit at the bowler’s end. Even a dive caught Kohli well short, showing how big the error in judgement was from India’s premier batter. It capped an excellent day for New Zealand who got to a very middling total after opting to bat. The Wankhede surface was its usual self with some bounce and subtle movement in the morning before starting to assist the spinners considerably.
Daryl Mitchell (82) and Will Young (71) were the major contributors for the Black Caps with both batters negotiating the bowling without much fuss. Their 87-run stand was pivotal, given that it came at a time when Washington Sundar struck twice in no time with the wickets of Tom Latham and Rachin Ravindra.
If Sundar (4-81) was India’s standout bowler in the morning session, it was Ravindra Jadeja (5-65) who excelled from then on even as the former continued to be efficient. Ravichandran Ashwin had an off day and returned wicketless as he struggled to create an impact.
Mitchell and Young were proactive with their methods, using their feet and depth of the crease to good effect. They also swept well and it took some brilliant bowling from Jadeja to get rid of Young while Mitchell fell to a soft dismissal. With the pitch offering enough to the spinners, New Zealand weren’t able to get away with the bat and losing wickets in clumps hurt them.
The visitors lost their last seven wickets for just 76 runs as Jadeja and Sundar sliced through the batting line-up. The left-arm spinner was at his menacing best as he went past Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma to break into the top-five wicket-takers for India in Tests.
With no Mitchell Santner to deal with, India’s batters appeared far more relaxed against spin. Rohit Sharma endured another failure as he fell to Matt Henry with the new ball but Jaiswal and Gill had things under control with a well-paced partnership. If the duo had managed to stay on together until stumps, it would have easily been India’s day.
However, Jaiswal’s rush of blood triggered a mini collapse that has put New Zealand on top at the moment. Batting is only going to get harder and chasing in the fourth innings will be a gargantuan task. So, India need a strong first innings score and it is set up for a riveting second day.
Day 2 : Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin combine to keep India marginally in front on Day 2
Ravindra Jadeja (4-52) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3-63) weaved their magic to give India a slender advantage on the second day of the final Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. At Stumps, New Zealand were 171 for 9 with a lead of 143. It could still be a fighting total on a crumbling surface but for now, India will believe that they are marginally in front. For the second straight day, bowlers called the shots as 15 wickets fell, one more than the number on the opening day with Ajaz Patel (5-103) being the star in the first half of the day.
The final session started with New Zealand shakily placed at 26 for 1. With the surface getting increasingly difficult to bat, every run was bound to be paramount. Will Young (51) continued to impress for the tourists with a battling fifty but he didn’t get the desired support from the other end. Daryl Mitchell (21) and Devon Conway (22) both got starts but weren’t able to kick on. It also didn’t help that the surface had started to play extravagant tricks from the spinners and Conway fell to a fizzing off break that just took off after pitching to find the edge.
While that dismissal was unfortunate on the batter, Rachin Ravindra’s dismissal was inexplicable as he stepped out for a wild slog against a sharp spinning off break, only to be stumped by a country mile. Young watched all this at the other end, even as he got into his work with appreciable dexterity.
Mitchell combined for a 50-run stand with him and it was the best period of the day for New Zealand in their batting performance. It seemed like the game was starting to slip away from India before Jadeja struck. Mitchell’s intent to keep the scoreboard rapidly ticking got the better of him as he miscued a loft, taken brilliantly by Ashwin at mid-on.
On these kind of pitches, one wicket generally brings two or more and that was the case for the second day in a row. Tom Blundell’s horror series continued as he got cleaned up by Jadeja. In came Glenn Phillips (26) whose only plan was to take the bowling on. With the pitch being as it is, the idea wasn’t bad as runs were at a premium. Phillips struck three sixes and a four in his 14-ball 26 before being castled by Ashwin’s carrom ball. Jadeja was at his menacing best as he sliced through the New Zealand lower order with pinpoint accuracy.
Matt Henry and Ajaz Patel hit a six apiece to add some useful runs before the former became Jadeja’s fourth wicket at the fag end of the day. New Zealand finished the day, having lost a bit of momentum but as seen already, batting last could be a very dicey affair, which means that the lead of 143 that New Zealand have right now, could be a tricky chase. The visitors will want to scrap a bit more to stretch the total past 150-155 if they can. Despite the strong bowling performance, India will rue that their batting unit saw another collapse in the series.
Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60) counterpunched for a brilliant 96-run stand but apart from the duo’s efforts, India’s batting cut a sorry figure. After having endured a disappointing couple of Tests, Ajaz found his mojo with a relentless spell of spin bowling as he utilized the conditions to optimum effect.
Ish Sodhi and Phillips gave him good support with the former striking the big blow of Pant just when the partnership was beginning to take the game completely away from the visitors. One of India’s strong points at home over the last decade or so has been the lower order rearguard that has seen them seal games aplenty. This series, however, that hasn’t been the case at all.
Ashwin and Jadeja were unable to click with the bat as Gill ran out of partners before perishing himself to Ajaz’s guile. If not for a powerful cameo from Washington Sundar (38*), India may have struggled to take the first innings lead. The home side then bowled well for most parts to ensure that they had their noses in front by the end of the day, even if the margin of dominance is negligible.
Day 3 : Ajaz Patel stars again at Wankhede as New Zealand seal historic 3-0 whitewash despite Rishabh Pant’s valiant effort
Riding on Ajaz Patel’s 6-57 in the fourth innings, New Zealand edged out India by 25 runs on the third day of the final Test in Mumbai to complete a historic 3-0 whitewash. It is the first time that India have been whitewashed at home in a series spanning three or more games.
Starting the second session with 55 more to win and four wickets in left, India’s chances rested solely on Rishabh Pant (64) whose adventurous knock kept the hosts in the chase. However, Ajaz soon put a stop to India’s hopes as he had the left-hander caught behind in what was a hugely controversial decision.
Pant was initially given not out by on-field umpire Richard Illingworth but on DRS, UltraEdge detected the tiniest of murmurs. The problem for the third umpire was that it was difficult to say whether it was of bat hitting the pad or a tiny edge. In such cases, the on-field call generally stays but Paul Reiffel seemed convinced to overturn it, much to Pant’s shock.
It was a body blow for India and from then on, the result was a foregone conclusion even with Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin at the crease. The nature of the pitch and India’s lack of intent with the blade meant that Pant had to bat all the way through to get the job done.
The Tamil Nadu duo did hang around a bit but Ashwin’s attempted reverse sweep off Glenn Phillips ended his stay at the crease. The New Zealander then cleaned up Akash Deep for a duck next ball to hasten the end. Fittingly for New Zealand, Ajaz sealed the game as Sundar’s missed his attempted slog sweep to be cleaned up.
Of the three New Zealand wins in the series, this arguably came on the toughest pitch of them all. The visitors won a handy toss and to be fair, batting wasn’t that difficult on the morning session of the first day. But things unraveled quickly thereafter as the game got completed inside two-and-a-half days.
As many as 14 wickets fell on the opening day while 15 perished on the second day. Today, the 11 remaining wickets fell before the halfway mark of the day. On such a difficult surface, batting was bound to be a lottery and batting last certainly wasn’t going to be easy.
Credit, though, to the Black Caps as they got a respectable first innings total thanks to Daryl Mitchell (82) and Will Young (71) whose fifties propped the innings up even as the others struggled to get going. Ravindra Jadeja (5-65) and Washington Sundar (4-81) used the conditions well after the hosts had started erratically on the opening day. New Zealand were 159/3 at one point, eyeing a total of 275-plus if not 300 but were eventually bundled out for 235. Ashwin had an indifferent outing and was wicketless in the first innings.
India had a golden opportunity to bat New Zealand out of the game. While the surface was deteriorating, gaining a lead of about 60-70 or 100 would have been game-defining. Unfortunately for the home side, only Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60) countered the spin challenge well as Ajaz spun a web around the batters. While Gill and Pant were on song, India were comfortably placed at 180/4 but like their opponents, they too endured a big collapse. If not for Washington Sundar’s 36-ball 38 at the back end, India may not have even got a lead.
Ultimately, the lead of 28, even though slender, wasn’t as significant in smothering New Zealand’s confidence and momentum. India did bowl well in the second innings as Jadeja got yet another fifer in the game. Ashwin also found his mojo with a three-fer as New Zealand could only muster 174, which meant a target of 147. It was one of those in between targets that often caused chaos for the chasing side, especially on such a raging turner.
India needed a solid start to get into the groove but before they knew it, they were 29/5 in the seventh over and from there, on this pitch, there was no looking back. That India managed to drag the game this close was thanks to Pant’s second fifty in the game and the left-hander certainly appeared to bat on a different surface with his intent and gameplay.
But with nobody to partner him and a crumbling pitch, the odds were stacked heavily against the wicketkeeper batter. Ultimately, it was a controversial dismissal that cut short his innings as New Zealand took the plunge towards history in what will be remembered as the biggest cricketing month of their history.
Take nothing away from Ajaz Patel, though. Born in Mumbai, representing New Zealand, having taken an all-10 on his previous trip, Ajaz was having an ordinary series when he came into the final Test. Even though he found his groove post lunch on day two, taking five wickets in the first innings, even though he had taken three early wickets in the second innings, he was playing a different Test against Pant.
At the moment of the Pant wicket, Ajaz Patel had bowled 167 balls to rest of India for 112 runs and nine wickets, but 41 balls to Pant had gone for 75 runs. Pant was in the middle of an audacious effort that defied the treacherous conditions, asked for by the team management and duly delivered to them.
The problem with batting on such tracks is the vast margin for errors bowlers have. Even if you bowl a rank long hop, you can protect the boundaries with in-out fields because the ball comes off the pitch at varying pace. Pant’s genius lay in still managing to manipulate shots enough to beat the deep fielders. A swivel almost onto the stumps to hit squarer. A collapse onto the knee to sweep finer. Almost always sweeping himself off his feet to impart that extra bit of power. All this while maintaining an 84% control rate at lunch.
When Pant was not on strike, though, Ajaz Patel was unplayable. Ever since lunch on day two, he bowled perfect lengths and carried it into the second innings. He bowled on a good length, drawing forward-defence from the batters without letting them reach the pitch of the ball.
Shubman Gill left one alone without covering the line of off, leaving himself open to the vagaries of the pitch. The ball didn’t turn, and took the off stump out. Virat Kohli was a sitting duck as he defended and edged into the big mitts of Daryll Mitchell at slip.
Ravindra Jadeja, who earlier completed his third career 10-wicket match haul and added 42 with Pant, finally got one that turned too much and was caught at bat-pad. Only Sarfaraz Khan’s wicket was a gift because of the gremlins in the minds. His two-ball innings consisted of two premeditated sweeps to what were otherwise boundary balls. One a single, and the other a full toss helped straight into deep midwicket’s welcoming hands.
The openers fell to Matt Henry and Phillips. Rohit Sharma seemed like he wanted to get ahead of New Zealand while the roller’s effect was still fresh after New Zealand refused to get the pitch rolled as their last wicket added three runs to the overnight lead of 143. Two boundaries came, but the third attempt was to a ball not short enough, and Phillips caught the top-edged pull at midwicket.
Phillips, who has far exceeded expectations as the second spinner of the side, continued the good work by not bowling any bad balls, and was duly rewarded by trapping Yashaswi Jaiswal lbw on the forward-defence.
Pant, though, was playing a different game. His first thought was a boundary, then running, and then defence. He opened his account with a flat six back over Ajaz Patel’s head. That forced Ajaz to bowl quicker and shorter to him, getting India a set of two bye boundaries. His reverse-sweeping got rid of short fine leg, and benefitted him when he top-edged a sweep precisely there.
After losing Jadeja, he found the boundary two times in the last two overs before lunch to bring up his fifty and leave India hopeful of a miracle. Post lunch, New Zealand sat back. Six singles in the first over. Two fours in the second. Then came the desperate review, which turned it around for New Zealand again.
Tom Blundell found something to celebrate with a superb catch off the R Ashwin glove on the reverse-sweep. Phillips found a moment to celebrate all the hard work when he bowled Akash Deep through the gate. Fittingly, Ajaz Patel ended it all as Washington Sundar tried to slog him with not many options left.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Tom Latham the winning NZ skipper said : Very ecstatic. Looking back at the start of the series to now be in this position, the boys have done a fantastic job over the last three Test matches. We spoke about it and after every Test match, it was trying to back it up. To finally do it here in Mumbai on a completely different surface, one that challenged us certainly with bat and ball, we are pretty happy.
Just being able to adapt to each grounds, I wouldn’t say it’s been a one way of doing things. The seamers did a great job in Bangalore. different guys stood up at different times and that’s the beauty of a team sport. When you look at the scores of the game, it wasn’t necessarily big runs, but it was contributions were looking for. Last week, it was Mitch, this week it was Ajaz. He did a fantastic job, he loves bowling here in Mumbai.
An all-round great team effort and certainly proud of the guys. We just want to keep it simple over here. We wanted to come here and try and fire a few shots. I spoke about that over the last couple of weeks and I certainly think we have done that. We’ve been a little bit more aggressive with the bat, tried to be more proactive. With the ball, we tried to keep it simple, understand how India play a little bit and just try to do our best.
Guys chipped in at different times which has been the most important thing and really happy to be standing here in this position. Not a lot (changed), we didn’t play all that bad over there (in Sri Lanka). We fell on the right side of a couple of tosses, which is important in these conditions.
We had the belief that we had enough runs on the board. We came here, we bowled really well this morning. When you are chasing a score on a tricky wicket, runs on the board is always important. Girls winning the World Cup was fantastic. But, to be in this position, we could have only dreamt of being in this position when we turned up here three weeks ago.
Rohit Sharma the loosing Indian skipper said : Yeah, absolutely, you know, losing a series, losing a Test is never easy, it’s something that’s not easily digestible. Again, we didn’t play our best cricket, we know and we have to accept. They (New Zealand) did so much better than us throughout the series. We made a lot of mistakes and we’ll have to accept it.
We didn’t put enough runs on the board in the 1st innings (in Bengaluru and Pune) and we were very much behind in the game, here, we got a 30-run lead, we thought we were ahead, the target was achievable as well, all we had to do was to show a bit of application which we failed to do. Chasing such a target, you want runs on the board as well, that’s something that was there in my mind (on his own batting today), it didn’t come off and when it happens, it doesn’t look great.
There are certain ideas, certain plans in my mind when I go to bat, but in this series, it didn’t come off and that’s disappointing for me. Those guys showed how to bat on these surfaces (on Pant, Jaiswal and Gill), you’ve got to be slightly ahead and be proactive when we play on a pitch like that we are playing on such pitches in the last 3-4 years, we know how to play (and play well).
But this series, it didn’t come off, certain things (on how to bat in such pitches) which didn’t come off, and that’s going to hurt. From a personal point of view, I wasn’t at my best with both bat and as a captain, that’s something that’ll rankle me. But, we didn’t perform well collectively and that’s the reason for these losses.
Ajaz Patel Player of the Match for his 11 wickets said : Not yet, but that’s a great idea (on being asked if he would take a part of this pitch while going home). Spin bowling is about rhythm. When you’re in such a rhythm, you’ll have to make the most of it.
When the conditions present themselves, you got to take it by the horns and do something about it. (Spell after lunch on day two) I felt confident in the morning session as well to be fair, but the pitch didn’t offer me a lot in terms of spin. The period after lunch, it turned a lot more and it helped me to use my guile and vary the pace. I just tried to keep it simple, keep the shape of the ball in the air and be ahead of the batters.
(On his battle against Pant) He’s batted phenomenally in the series and he put us under pressure throughout the series. I knew if I just bowled good balls at him, he will come out and hit me out of the park. So, I had to think out of the box and come up with a different plan against him. No, not this time (on whether he would go and visit Jogeshwari, his place of birth in the Mumbai suburb)
Will Young Player of the series said : It’s massive. Firstly for the team to come over here, if you cast your mind back to the start of the series, one match was huge. To go again and again, so proud of the boys and proud of the efforts I put in to contribute towards that. I just try to keep it really simple.
At times, I needed to trust my defence and at times, I needed to be clear on where I wanted to score and do it for as long as I possibly can. If I know where I want to score and I can trust my defence, that makes the mind a lot clear.
Memories with the boys that we have just created over the last few weeks, we talk about the dressing room and the hotel room, you go back and enjoy each others’ company. That’s why we play the game, we do it for the bloke next to us and that’s a great feeling. (No.3 slot when Kane Williamson returns) Don’t know about that, next series we’ll see what happens.
Of the three New Zealand wins in the series, this arguably came on the toughest pitch of them all. The visitors won a handy toss and to be fair, batting wasn’t that difficult on the morning session of the first day.
But things unraveled quickly thereafter as the game got completed inside two-and-a-half days. As many as 14 wickets fell on the opening day while 15 perished on the second day. Today, the 11 remaining wickets fell before the halfway mark of the day. On such a difficult surface, batting was bound to be a lottery and batting last certainly wasn’t going to be easy.
Credit, though, to the Black Caps as they got a respectable first innings total thanks to Daryl Mitchell (82) and Will Young (71) whose fifties propped the innings up even as the others struggled to get going. Ravindra Jadeja (5-65) and Washington Sundar (4-81) used the conditions well after the hosts had started erratically on the opening day. New Zealand were 159/3 at one point, eyeing a total of 275-plus if not 300 but were eventually bundled out for 235. Ashwin had an indifferent outing and was wicketless in the first innings.
India had a golden opportunity to bat New Zealand out of the game. While the surface was deteriorating, gaining a lead of about 60-70 or 100 would have been game-defining. Unfortunately for the home side, only Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60) countered the spin challenge well as Ajaz Patel spun a web around the batters.
While Gill and Pant were on song, India were comfortably placed at 180/4 but like their opponents, they too endured a big collapse. If not for Washington Sundar’s 36-ball 38 at the back end, India may not have even got a lead.
Ultimately, the lead of 28, even though slender, wasn’t as significant in smothering New Zealand’s confidence and momentum. India did bowl well in the second innings as Jadeja got yet another fifer in the game. Ashwin also found his mojo with a three-fer as New Zealand could only muster 174, which meant a target of 147. It was one of those in between targets that often caused chaos for the chasing side, especially on such a raging turner.
India needed a solid start to get into the groove but before they knew it, they were 29/5 in the seventh over and from there, on this pitch, there was no looking back. That India managed to drag the game this close was thanks to Pant’s second fifty in the game and the left-hander certainly appeared to bat on a different surface with his intent and gameplay.
But with nobody to partner him and a crumbling pitch, the odds were stacked heavily against the wicketkeeper batter. Ultimately, it was a controversial dismissal that cut short his innings as New Zealand took the plunge towards history in what will be remembered as the biggest cricketing month of their history.
Incredible from the Kiwis. They are all smiles as they become the first team to inflict a 3-0 whitewash on India in India. Ajaz Patel, who picked ten wickets in an innings at this venue the last time he toured India, is the hero of this Test. Five wickets in the first innings and he ensured that India didn’t gain a big first innings lead. The Indian batters, apparently, practiced against five young left-arm spinners before the start of play today. But they’ve been spin-choked by Ajaz Patel again as the left-arm finished with a six-fer.
The final innings was just Pant vs New Zealand! Chasing 146, India lost half their side inside 8 overs with just 29 runs on the board. Rohit fell playing a rash shot, Gill shouldered arms to get bowled, Kohli nicked behind, Jaiswal was trapped lbw by Phillips and Sarfaraz top-edged his sweep to deep square leg.
Pant counterattacked and notched up his second fifty of the Test, once again at a SR above 100. A defensive Jadeja was caught at short leg but as long as Pant was out in the middle, India had a chance. Ajaz Patel produced the killer blow by removing Pant, thanks to a successful review from New Zealand. Sundar and Ashwin hung around for a while, but GP picked back-to-back wickets and Ajaz Patel wrapped up the proceedings. India 0 – 3 New Zealand!
First time India have been whitewashed in a home series of three or more Tests at home. New Zealand become the fourth side to whitewash India in a series of 3+ Tests after England (4), Australia (3), and West Indies (once).First ever instance of New Zealand winning three Tests in a series home or away and first three ever they have won three successive away Tests.
Latham collects the trophy and joins his team-mates as they pose behind the WINNERS hoarding. This is his first assignment as New Zealand’s Test captain and his team has achieved what was considered almost impossible. Mind you, NZ came to India having lost both the Tests in Sri Lanka, following which Tim Southee stepped down as the captain. They missed the services of Kane Williamson for this series – their best batsman of this generation
Not many backed them to even compete against an experienced Indian team. But the Kiwis played incredibly as a team. Bowled out India for 46 on a seam-friendly deck in Bengaluru which was the start of something spectacular. Mitchell Santner completely outbowled the experienced duo of Ashwin-Jadeja in Pune and finished with 13 wickets. And, then, here in Mumbai, Ajaz Patel starred with the ball in Santner’s absence, coupled with crucial contributions from Young and Mitchell with the bat in both the innings.
From India’s perspective, a lot of questions will be raised. They’ve suffered collapses in all the six innings and they’ve been outplayed by New Zealand in all the facets of the game. Can they recover from this embarrassing loss quickly would be the question
WTC Final Scenarios : The Border–Gavaskar Trophy will commence on November 22 and India have an uphill task ahead of them to make it to the WTC final. They have to win 5-0 or 4-0 in Australia not to depend on other results. SA (69.4%) or SL (69.2%) and NZ (64.3%) can pip India even of they win 4-1 (they will get to 64.0%). Six teams are still in the hunt to make it to the final which make this cycle the most exciting one amongst all.