Pune (Maharashtra): India’s record streak of 18 consecutive home series wins has been ended by New Zealand in Pune of Maharashtra, said reports on Saturday. This is also the first team to win a men’s Test series in India. New Zealand won by 113 runs.
Both teams went for Tea after India were reeling at 178/7 with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja unbeaten with scores of 9(10) and 4(13), respectively. With the first Test series defeat at home on the cards for India under head coach Gautam Gambhir, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill continued to keep the hopes of rewriting the history book alive by completing the mounting 359-run chase against the Kiwis.
But once again it was Mitchell Santner who haunted India’s batters with his sheer accuracy to take New Zealand closer to victory. The ‘Gamball’ took over New Zealand’s cut-throat bowling attack, with Gill and Jaiswal having no mercy to spare en route to scripting history. In the past 26 instances, India have only once managed to chase down a 300-plus total.
The victory dates back to 2008 when India faced England in Chennai. Out of the 26 instances, India has lost on 14 occasions. The flurry of boundaries eclipsed the hopes of losing the series and served as a reminder of what India is capable of pulling off, even in the direst of situations. Jaiswal’s inside-out, movement of feet and traditional drives were a sight to behold, while Gill, with his sweeps, out maneuvered New Zealand’s spin threat.
