CHRISTCHURCH, March 2: A star-studded India was outplayed by seven wickets inside three days in the second Test against New Zealand here with the home team making a mockery of the visitors� World No. 1 status to complete a memorable series sweep.
New Zealand prevailed by seven wickets, chasing down a modest target of 132 in just 36 overs, after India�s second innings folded for 124 in less than an hour on the third day. India, perched at the top of the World Test Championships right now, were humiliated 0-2, found wanting yet again when up against high-quality seamers overseas.
�We accept it upfront and if we have to win away from home, we have to do that. No excuses, just learning moving forward. In Tests, we weren�t able to play the cricket we wanted to,� India skipper Virat Kohli said after the match.
Tom Latham (52 off 74 balls) and Tom Blundell (55 off 113 balls) had a good batting session as Mohammed Shami didn�t bowl post lunch due to a ball-impact injury while batting. A solid 120 points took New Zealand�s tally to 180 even as India stayed on top with 360 points courtesy their series wins against the lowly West Indies, depleted South Africa and a below-par Bangladesh.
The feel good factor of a 5-0 T20 series victory seemed like ancient history as a dream start turned into a virtual nightmare for Kohli�s bunch that has always taken immense pride in performing well in overseas conditions.
However, a look at India�s overseas performance indicates that whenever the ball swings and seams, reputations end up in tatters. It happened in England in 2014 and 2018 and now New Zealand have exposed them one more time.
The main culprit was the batsmen, and Kohli had no qualms in admitting it.
�The batsmen didn�t do enough for the bowlers to try and attack. The bowling was good, I thought even in Wellington we bowled well. Sometimes if you bowl well and things don�t happen, you have to take it in your stride,� Kohli said. More than the margin, the manner of surrender will come back to haunt the current Indian team, which leaves this part of the world with a lot of unanswered questions. � PTI
SCORECARD
India 1st Innings: 242
New Zealand 1st Innings: 235
India 2nd innings (overnight 90/6):
Prithvi Shaw c Latham b Southee 14
Mayank Agarwal lbw b Boult 3
Cheteshwar Pujara b Boult 24
Virat Kohli lbw b de Grandhomme 14
Ajinkya Rahane b Wagner 9
Umesh Yadav b Boult 1
Hanuma Vihari c Watling b Southee 9
Rishabh Pant c Watling b Boult 4
Ravindra Jadeja not out 16
Shami c Tom Blundell b Southee 5
Jasprit Bumrah run out 4
Extras: (b-9, lb-12) 21
Total: (All out in 46 overs) 124
Fall of wickets: 8-1, 26-2, 51-3, 72-4, 84-5, 89-6, 97-7, 97-8, 108-9.
Bowling: Tim Southee 11-2-36-3, Trent Boult 14-4-28-4, Kyle Jamieson 8-4-18-0, Colin de Grandhomme 5-3-31-0, Neil Wagner 8-1-18-1.
New Zealand 2nd Innings:
Tom Latham c Pant b Umesh 52
Tom Blundell b Bumrah 55
K Williamson c Rahane b Bumrah 5
Ross Taylor not out 5
Henry Nicholls not out 5 Extras: (b-1, lb-8, nb-1) 9
Total: (For 3 wickets in 36 overs) 132
Fall of wickets: 103-1, 112-2, 121-3.
Bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 13-2-39-2, Umesh Yadav 14-3-45-1, Mohammed Shami 3-1-11-0, Ravindra Jadeja 5-0-24-0, Virat Kohli 1-0-4-0.
