In a turn of events that caught the cricketing world by surprise, New Zealand has stunned India in their backyard, ending an illustrious winning streak and etching their name in the history books. New Zealand’s cricket team became only the sixth team ever to achieve this milestone against India on Indian soil in a bilateral Test series. This victory marks a significant achievement for New Zealand, as it came on their 13th visit to India, with their last win dating back to November 1988.
India’s dominance in home series has been practically unchallenged for nearly a decade. Before this defeat by New Zealand, India enjoyed 18 consecutive series victories at home. The last team to manage a victory against them was England during the 2012/13 series, which ended 2-1 in favor of the visitors. This streak is the longest for any team in Test history, outpacing Australia’s ten-series win streaks between 1994/95 to 2000/01 and 2004 to 2008/09. India’s consistency at home has been formidable, making the New Zealand triumph even more notable.
The series defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for India, especially since it was only the third time in their cricketing history that they have lost three or more Tests at home in a calendar year. The last instances occurred in 1969 against Australia and New Zealand and then in 1983 against the West Indies. Earlier in the year, England bested India in Hyderabad, adding to the pressure on the Indian team leading into this series.
Rohit Sharma’s stats as a captain at home are insightful. With four defeats in 15 matches, Rohit’s leadership is being put to the test. Only MAK Pataudi, with nine losses as captain, stands ahead, whereas Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin both recorded four losses in 20 Tests each.
A significant factor in this series was the standout performance of New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner. Recording figures of 13/157 – 7/53 in the first innings followed by 6/104 in the second – Santner delivered the third-best match figures recorded by a New Zealand bowler.
. Only Richard Hadlee’s 15/123 against Australia in Brisbane in 1985 and Ajaz Patel’s 14/224 at the Wankhede Stadium precede Santner’s remarkable display of bowling. Santner’s achievement also places him among elite performances against India, joining Ajaz Patel and England legend Ian Botham as the only bowlers to take 13 or more wickets in a Test match against India.
Santner is notable for being only the second New Zealand spinner, after Daniel Vettori, to take five-wicket hauls in both innings of a Test match. Vettori accomplished this remarkable feat twice in his career, reflecting Santner’s achievement in superior company.
The recent Test series saw spinners taking center stage. A staggering 37 wickets were claimed by spinners, tying with the previous record set in 1969 in Nagpur. Remarkably, two spinners achieving 10-wicket hauls in a single Test match is a rare occurrence, happening only for the eighth time in cricket history, with Santner and Washington Sundar at the helm. Sundar’s match figures of 11/115 – the second-best for an Indian player in a losing cause – demonstrate the high-caliber of spin bowling witnessed during this series. Only once before, Javagal Srinath’s 13/132 against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens, has an Indian player recorded better figures in a defeat.
Moreover, this Test coincided with a milestone for Indian cricket. Yashasvi Jaiswal reached 1056 runs, surpassing Gundappa Viswanath’s 40-year record for the most runs in a calendar year for an Indian batter at home. Jaiswal joins the ranks of Viswanath and Sunil Gavaskar in surpassing 1000 runs in a single calendar year on Indian soil.
This achievement by New Zealand is not just a cricketing victory; it is a statement. A testament to hard work, strategic precision, and seizing key moments in the game. As the cricketing world recalibrates after this shocking series result, New Zealand heads home triumphant, while India is left to introspect on a rare defeat at home.