In a striking turn of events on India’s cricketing grounds, New Zealand has etched their name into the annals of sports history by becoming only the sixth visiting side to defeat India in a bilateral Test series played on their home turf. This remarkable achievement was sealed during New Zealand’s 13th visit to India, where, prior to this series, they had only managed to secure two Test victories on Indian soil, the last of which occurred over three decades ago in November 1988.
New Zealand’s astonishing victory ended India’s robust winning streak of 18 consecutive home Test series, a record that had positioned India as an almost invincible force in the cricketing world when it came to defending their territory. The last setback India faced on their home soil took place in the 2012/13 series when they were overpowered by England in a 2-1 finish. India’s remarkable 18-series streak had been the longest such streak in the history of bilateral Test cricket series at home, setting a benchmark that had relegated Australia’s sequences of ten consecutive home series wins into a distant second place. The shock of losing the first two home Tests in a series had eluded India since their encounters with South Africa in the 1999/00 season.
This year marks a rare phenomenon as it is only the third time in Indian cricket history that the national team has lost three or more Tests on home soil within a calendar year. The other instances occurred in 1969 and 1983, with defeats against Australia and the West Indies, respectively. Indicating a challenging year for the team, India also conceded a defeat earlier in Hyderabad against England before succumbing to New Zealand.
Rohit Sharma, leading the Indian team as captain, faced four defeats in 15 home Test matches, tying for the second-most defeats for an Indian captain in such a context. Former captain MAK Pataudi heads this list with nine losses, while Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin follow with similar records of four defeats in 20 Test matches each.
New Zealand’s successful campaign saw Mitchell Santner playing a pivotal role, delivering an exceptional performance that earned him the third-best match figures for any New Zealand bowler.
. His figures of 13/157 (7/53 and 6/104) place him just behind Richard Hadlee’s 15/123 against Australia in 1985 and Ajaz Patel’s 14/224 against India at Mumbai not long ago.
On the spin-dominated wickets of India, Santner became the third bowler to claim 13 or more wickets in a Test against India, joining the ranks of Ajaz Patel and England’s Ian Botham. Further underscoring his prowess, Santner achieved a rare feat of taking five-wicket hauls in both innings of a Test match, becoming only the second New Zealand spinner to do so. He follows in the footsteps of Daniel Vettori, who accomplished this feat twice against Australia and Bangladesh, respectively.
In this Test, spinners reigned supreme, accounting for a staggering 37 wickets, the joint-most in a match played in India. This record matches the outcome of the 1969 encounter between the same two teams in Nagpur, marking New Zealand’s first-ever Test win on Indian soil. The only matches to have exceeded this spinner count were between Sri Lanka and England in 2018 and Bangladesh versus Afghanistan in 2019, both resulting in 38 wickets taken by spinners.
Remarkably, both Santner and Indian player Washington Sundar emerged with notable performances, each securing 10-wicket hauls—the first concurrent instance since Ajantha Mendis and Harbhajan Singh in Galle, 2008. Washington’s 11/115 ranks as the second-best match figures for an Indian player resulting in a defeat, a record led only by Javagal Srinath’s 13/132 against Pakistan in 1999.
Adding a highlight to the series amidst the turmoil was Yashasvi Jaiswal’s achievement in surpassing 1000 runs within the calendar year, marking a milestone that placed him alongside legendary figures like Gundappa Viswanath and Sunil Gavaskar.
Through this series, New Zealand has surely left an indelible mark on the cricketing world, demonstrating the essence of perseverance and strategy against one of the sport’s dominant forces on their home turf.