New Zealand Won Maiden Test Series In India, Ended India’s 12-Year Winning Streak

New Zealand won its maiden test series in India, beating the hosts by a huge margin of 113 runs in the second test in Pune on Saturday, October 26th, to take an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series. The visitors also ended India’s marvelous 12-year winning streak at home since their last test series defeat against England in 2012 by 2-1 under Alastair Cook.

The Kiwis chose to bat first at the Maharashtra Cricket Association after winning the toss and could make only 259 runs in the 1st innings with the half-centuries from the heroes of 1st test Devon Conway (76) and Rachin Ravindra (65). An exceptional bowling display of 7/59 from comeback man Washington Sundar triggered the collapse for the visitors from a decent position of 138/3. In reply, India got folded for a mere 156 similar to the 1st innings of the 1st test but this time it was the stunning spell of 7/53 from left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner whose impeccable line and length troubled Indian batters.

The Blackcaps took advantage of their 1st innings lead of 103 runs and managed to score 255 runs in the 2nd innings on the back of captain Tom Latham’s 86, helping his team give a daunting target of 359 runs on a wicket where spinners turned out to be a menace for the batters. For India, Sundar was again the pick of the bowlers with 4/56 which completed his 1st ten-wicket haul in the format while Jadeja and Ashwin took three and two wickets apiece. In pursuit of chasing the challenging total, Yashasvi Jaiswal gave India an aggressive start with his superb knock of 77 off 65 balls. Still, Rohit Sharma failed to deliver like the first innings. This time Santner began creating inroads from the start and sent the first four batters including Kohli (17), and Gill (23) for a paltry score. The hosts could not fabricate a single significant partnership for the sake of their victory and were bowled out for 245 runs despite a fighting innings of 42 from Jadeja in the lower order. Santner bagged another fifer (6/104), following his excellent seven fer in the 1st innings, making his dream maiden ten wicket-haul in tests.

New Zealand Won Maiden Test Series In India

India’s batting debacle continued in the second test after they were bowled out for a mere 46 runs under overcast conditions in the 1st innings of the 1st test in Bengaluru. Indian batters could not handle the spin bowling masterclass from the Kiwi spinners for the two games in a row now while the management and fans expected improvements and solid character from the team. The third test will not only be a match to restore pride for India but it will also be a chance to collect some important points to be in the race of the 2025 WTC final.