In what marks a monumental achievement for New Zealand cricket, the national team has become only the sixth visiting side to defeat India in a bilateral Test series on Indian soil. This historic victory occurred during New Zealand’s 13th tour of the subcontinent, a place notoriously challenging for visiting teams. Prior to this series, out of 12 earlier visits, the Kiwis managed to secure only two Test wins in India, with their last victory dating back to November 1988.
The series brought an end to India’s remarkable streak of 18 consecutive home series victories. This streak, which is the longest of its kind for a team at home in Test history, had begun after India’s last defeat at home to England in the 2012/13 series, where they lost 2-1 in a four-Test contest. The unprecedented run leaves Australia trailing with only ten consecutive home series wins achieved during two distinct periods: from the 1994/95 season to 2000/01 and again between 2004 and 2008/09. For Indian cricket fans, the last memory of India losing the first two Tests of a series at home dates back to 1999/00 against South Africa.
The year has been one of historical significance for Indian cricket, albeit with several setbacks. The current calendar year records India’s loss of three or more Tests at home for just the third time ever. They lost four Tests in 1969 (three against Australia and one against New Zealand) and three against West Indies in 1983. The recent 0-2 loss to New Zealand follows a defeat to England earlier this year in Hyderabad, highlighting a challenging period for the Indian Test setup.
The recent defeats have placed the spotlight on Indian captain Rohit Sharma. With four losses in 15 home Tests under his captaincy, he is now joint second on the list for most home Test losses by an Indian captain. At the top of this list is MAK Pataudi with nine defeats, followed by Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin with four losses each in 20 Tests.
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A key architect of New Zealand’s success was Mitchell Santner, who delivered an extraordinary performance with his bowling prowess. Santner’s match figures of 13/157 (7/53 & 6/104) rank as the third-best in New Zealand’s cricket history. He trails only behind the iconic Richard Hadlee, who achieved figures of 15/123 against Australia at the Gabba in 1985, and Ajaz Patel, who recorded 14/224 against India at the Wankhede Stadium just three years ago.
Santner is now part of an elite group as the third bowler to take 13 or more wickets against India in a Test. The other members of this exclusive club include Ajaz Patel and England’s Ian Botham. Furthermore, Santner is the second New Zealand spinner to bag five-wicket hauls in both innings of a Test, joining the esteemed ranks of Daniel Vettori.
The Test was a spinner’s showcase with 37 wickets taken by spinners, marking it as one of only a few matches played on Indian soil where spinners have dominated to this extent. The comparable matches include a 1969 Test between the same two sides in Nagpur, New Zealand’s first-ever Test win in India, and two matches where spinners took 38 wickets between Sri Lanka and England in Pallekele in 2018, and Bangladesh and Afghanistan in Chattogram in 2019.
Moreover, this Test was only the eighth instance where two spinners secured ten-wicket hauls. Along with Santner’s 13 wickets, India’s Washington Sundar demonstrated impressive skill by claiming 11/115, although his efforts were in vain as India faltered.
Adding a silver lining for India, young Yashasvi Jaiswal marked an extraordinary personal achievement by becoming the highest run-scorer in a calendar year in India with 1056 runs, surpassing Gundappa Viswanath’s previous record of 1047 runs set in 1979. Jaiswal joins an elite list of batters, becoming only the sixth overall and the third Indian to exceed 1000 runs in a calendar year at home.
This New Zealand triumph signals a shift in global cricket dynamics, challenging India’s stronghold at home and suggesting a diversifying field in international Test cricket.