INDIA VS NEW ZEALAND : 2ND TEST, PUNE : Cricket’s Biggest Upset of the Year: NZ’s 113-Run Victory Leaves IND Fans in Disbelief .
New Zealand break 12-year-long streak: New Zealand defeat hosts India by an innings in Pune to win the three-match Test series and shatter the latter’s fortress PUNE: A solid bowling performance by Mitchell Santner took New Zealand to a 113-run victory over India in the second Test of their three-match series here. India were reduced to 8 for 1 as their skipper Rohit Sharma got out, they once again remained into the game with a partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill but kept on loosing wickets at regular intervals due to Santner’s spin bowling. Consequently India could make only 245 chasing of mammoth total of New Zealand and lost by substantial margin ~113 runs. For New Zealand, Mitchell Santner scalped seven wickets & six wicket while Ajaz Patel took 02. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 77 for India and Ravindra Jadeja contributed with a fine run-a-ball knock of 42. Cricket’s Biggest Upset of the Year: NZ’s 113-Run Victory Leaves IND Fans in Disbelief .
TOSS-
New Zealand Won the Toss and opted to Bat.
TEAMS LINE UP-
India Playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant(wk), Sarfaraz Khan,, Ravindra Jadeja Washington Sundar, Rashid khan Ashwin Akash Deep Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand Playing XI:
Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell ,Glen Phillps(wk)Mitchell Stanter, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel. William ORourke.
DAY 1-
India, batting first were 16/1 after Tim Southee had castled Rohit Sharma for a golden duck. Shubman Gill (10) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (6) were at the crease without being separated. Earlier, Washington Sundar spearheaded India’s fightback with a career best six wicket haul to skittle out New Zealand for 259 on the opening day of the second Test in Pune. Sundar bowled brilliantly and ended up taking 7/59 after he dismissed five New Zealand batters on his comeback. The entire batting line-up tries to get as many runs on the board and when they do New Zealand have in Thakur a bowler who can rattle them — serving up nagging problems with wickets from steps or snarl.
New Zealand got off to a flying start in their innings smashing boundaries against Akash Deep, as Jasprit Bumrah was keeping things tight from the other end. But India introduced spin in the eighth over, and Ashwin was rewarded immediately; he got one to straighten from round the stumps which trapped Latham lbw.
Young had an awkward departure, Ashwin firing one down the legside and spinning it past Young’s glove as he went back to brush his pad on its way through Prompted by some gamesmanship from short-leg Sarfaraz Khan, Rohit reviewed but replays confirmed what a loud noise could not.
Conway looked like he wanted one for the innings, and when Ashwin gave him a half-tracker to chase late in the day, he went after it too hastily only to find an edge through to Pant behinds stumps leaving offspinner with his third wicket of affair.
Washington’s offbreaks continued to challenge the offstump, and he reaped the rewards. Mitchell was nailed legbefore Glenn Phillips holed out to Ashwin at long off and Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner were all bowled playing for turn not there.
In his last four overs, Washington Picked up 4 wickets to clear the tail very quickly. It was also the first time all 10 wickets were taken by offspinners. Such had been the momentum shift if favour of India soon enough as it seemed New Zealand’s turn to grind and they too met their set of difficulties in the dying minutes on day.
On Thursday, Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal saw off the day’s play unbeaten but not before they were tested.
DAY 2-
India had a horror of a morning on day 2 and their invicible home record is under serious threat now. But India fell meekly to 156 with Mitchell Santner taking seven wickets. Ravindra Jadeja (38) top scored for India.
Neither did India’s seemingly long batting order that was turned over quickly in morning with Santner among the wickets and before they could blink there were six on which a marker had been laid on them. Vijay brought an end to the 92-run stand with Siraj, who (43) shifted gears post lunch and pressed forward as Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja were India’s final recognised batters of note by this stage. It worked somewhat as Ajaz Patel was made to sweat a little. Santner grabbed his fifth to stop the jadeja charge, ending with seven wickets.
Faced with a vital first-innings lead of over 100 runs, New Zealand’s two openers gave them a good start in the pressure-cooker chase India had set for them. Ashwin and Washington however deserved the two wickets they got, Devon Conway falling for 54 before Will Young followed a couple of overs later; but Latham kept moving at his own pace.
On a surface that was starting to look like it might get tougher for batting from here on, New Zealand seemed intent on getting runs – and quickly. Washington’s arm ball accounted for the key scalp of Rachin Ravindra but Daryl Mitchell swept his third delivery to signal he meant business. But Washington soon compensated by having Mitchell caught at long on as he attempted to slog one.
New Zealand dominated the proceedings on Day 2 as Mitchell Santner and Tom Latham shone in the second Test against India. The visitors put in a wonderful bowling performance to shock the hosts and then went on to take their lead over 300 by stumps at Day 2.
DAY 3-
The pressure of not losing their long and enviable unbeaten streak at home finally seemed to get to the rather subdued India spinners as Ashwin and Jadeja failed quite miserably in exerting control which they were given by Santner. Indeed, the latter only bagged a wicket on the morning of day three. But Sundar (4-56) did get a couple of well-timed strikes, and he got little respite from the far other end. Saving of the follow-on looked a distant dream at 198/5 in 57.3 overs and with the lead crossing past the 300-run mark, it was only matter of time before two teams shook hands.
New Zealand were dismissed shortly thereafter for 167; but a target of 359 on this pitch required a miracle and that awaited Australia later in the day. Jadeja had found his mojo earlier today during New Zealand’s narrow defeat by India, who won thanks to an inspired Sharma century at one end before their spinners then set about demolition work with Ish Sodhi doing better than anyone else via figures (2-50). Given the way in which Indian Test team had played some absurd results over last few years but this was a challenge too large. The intent in the chase was better, especially since Yashasvi Jaiswal (77) had started with a bang but Santner was once again their leader. He cut through the rest of India’s batting unit like a wrecking ball and the scalp followed by Jaiswal & Wicketkeeper batter Rishabh pant getting out for naught more or less ended whatever slim chances that might exist in any kind of narrative arc.
Santner not only bagged his first-ever fifer in First-class cricket but took two of them as New Zealand rose to a historic win courtesy 13-wicket match haul from the all-rounder. There is a plethora of records the series broke, but being the first side in 12 years to win here stands out. India had no answers for the second game running on a seam-friendly Bengaluru surface.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 259 and 255 (Tom Latham 86; Washington Sundar 4-56, Ravindra Jadeja 3-72) beat India 156 and 245 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 77, Ravindra Jadeja 42; Mitchell Santner 6-104) by 112 runs .