Pune: Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner weaved magic with his 6-104 as New Zealand did the unimaginable by clinching a historic Test series win in India for the first time with a 113-run victory over the hosts on Day Three of the second Test at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium here on Saturday.
Not many had thought New Zealand would go on to get their first Test series win in India, especially after losing 2-0 in Sri Lanka, having a new captain in Tom Latham and ace batter Kane Williamson not being available due to a groin injury.
But New Zealand upstaged India by winning key moments in Pune to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Santner, who took 7-53 in the first innings, rattled India yet again with a remarkable spell of 6-104 to end up with match figures of 13/157, the third-best match figures for a bowler from his country in Tests.
Despite nursing pain on his right side, Santner varied his pace, and trajectory and found enough help from a spin-friendly pitch to bamboozle the Indian batters and play a major hand in New Zealand doing the impossible in a convincing fashion.
The result also means that India have lost a Test series at home for the first time since December 2012. The defeat to a tough and solid New Zealand side, after being bowled out for 245 in an uphill pursuit of 359, brings their unbeaten 18-series streak in Tests at home to an end. After reducing India to 178/7 at tea, the final session began with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja defending for nine overs before the former was lured into a drive on a ball from Santner which dipped and then turned to take the edge to slip.
Despite a few boundaries from Jadeja delaying the inevitable, New Zealand continued to strike as Akash Deep holed out to long-on, giving left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel his first wicket of the match. Jadeja became the fourth player to enter a rare club of 2000-plus runs and 200-plus wickets in Tests at home through his knock of 42. But him holing out to long-on off Patel made the way for an unforgettable moment in New Zealand’s cricketing history.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 259 and 255 beat India 156 and 245 all out in 60.2 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 77, Ravindra Jadeja 42; Mitchell Santner 6-104, Ajaz Patel 2-43) by 113 runs
–IANS