NEW DELHI: Before the second Test in Pune, New Zealand had just three wins in their Test cricket history in India.
One of them in Bengaluru — not even a week old — came after a 36-year gap.
A pitiful record on Indian soil and coming into the series on the backdrop of a humiliating 2-0 whitewash in Sri Lanka, no one would have imagined that the Kiwis were daring enough to pull off something a win against powerhouse India.
But the Black Caps did it!
On Saturday, Tom Latham and Co. made history by beating India by 113 runs in the second Test to halt India’s dominance at home.
It took the Black Caps just three days to ruin India’s stunning record that had lasted 4331 days, handing the hosts a home series defeat for the first time since 2012.
In the process proving that the win at Chinnaswamy Stadium last week was not just a fluke.
The loss in Pune will now be a blot in India’s cricketing history as the defeat meant that their impressive record of not losing a Test series at home – since England’s win in 2012 came to an end.
But how did New Zealand manage to pull off such a feat? Here’s a look at the key moments of the Pune Test that led to India conceding a mighty home record.
Toss and panic changes in XI
Trailing 0-1 in the series, India were already on the backfoot and opted for the tried-and-tested approach — a spin-friendly track — to draw level.
On turning pitches , the biggest factor is who bats fourth. When the coin landed in favour of Tom Latham, he had no hesitation in deciding to bat first which meant India had to chase in the fourth innings.
As far as the toss was concerned, Rohit Sharma was unlucky but the three changes he, and the team management, made in the playing XI showed that India had hit the panic button after the loss in Bengaluru.
While KL Rahul was dropped for poor form, Washington Sundar replaced Kuldeep Yadav to strengthen the batting. Mohammed Siraj’s omission too was a surprise from the India XI.
Spirited first innings performances from Conway, Rachin
In-form batters Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra played important knocks of 76 and 65 respectively in the first innings before Washington Sundar ran through the Kiwi batting line-up with a seven-for.
The pitch had started offering spin and bounce from the first day itself and Sundar made beautiful use of it to register his career-best figures of 7 for 59. Amid the Sundar show, Conway and Rachin knocks, coupled with useful contributions from the rest, took the Kiwis to a respectable 259-run total.
At the time, the score looked below-par but the pitch had indicated that batting was not going to be easy going forward. And then losing an aggressive Rohit Sharma late on Day 1 for a nine-ball duck put India in early trouble.
Another India batting collapse
While the 46 all out in Bengaluru — India’s lowest total at home — was courtesy gloomy conditions and a quality seam attack making the most of it, in Pune the hosts’ vulnerabilities against spin got exposed.
The fall of Rohit on Day 1 had already put pressure on India and they needed a big partnership. However, India lost 9 wickets for 106 on the second day as left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner produced a magical spell to put India on the mat.
Irresponsible shot selection and failure to read Kiwi spinners off the hand resulted in India being shot down for 156. The collapse resulted in India conceding a big 103-run first lead.
The Latham show
After scoring 15, 0 and 15 in the first three innings of the series, skipper Tom Latham found the perfect time to regain form as he smacked a cracking 86 at the top, laying a solid platform for the Kiwis in their second essay.
Attacking the Indian bowlers, New Zealand never allowed India to settle and scored runs at a brisk pace.
Alongside Latham, Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips scored 41 and 48 respectively to take New Zealand’s lead past the 300-run mark.
On the third day, India did manage to fold New Zealand for 255 but the visitors’ lead had reached 358 runs by then.
Another collapse after Jaiswal scare
Chasing an improbable total, India came out all guns blazing with Yashasvi Jaiswal brutally assaulting the opposition bowlers. Rohit’s early blow rattled India, before racing off to 81/1, giving New Zealand a bit of a scare.
But the second session witnessed another Indian batting downfall — 5 wickets lost for 51 runs — opening the doors for a historic win.
Santner once again led from the front, nabbing six wickets to end India’s hopes of pulling off an unlikely heist.
Ravindra Jadeja did manage 42 late on, delaying the inevitable but things were wrapped up in the final hour of the final session.
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