India trounced New Zealand by 178 runs in the 2nd Test to clinch the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead which also propelled them to the top of the ICC rankings dethroning arch-rivals Pakistan
R Ashwin, Virat Kohli
Indian captain Virat Kohli jumps in the air to celebrate the wicket of New Zealand's BJ Watling during the fourth day of the second Test match between India and New Zealand at the Eden Gardens cricket stadium in Kolkata on Monday. Pic/AFP
ADVERTISEMENT
Kolkata: India pulled off a brilliant all-round performance to trounce New Zealand by 178 runs in the second Test to clinch the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead which also propelled them to the top of the ICC rankings dethroning arch-rivals Pakistan, here today.
Virat Kohli's men wrapped up the series-deciding victory on the Fourth day of the match after setting the Black Caps a mammoth target of 376 runs to chase.
The visitors showed some spark to start with but their chase floundered in the post-tea session and the side was bowled out for 197 in 81.1 overs in what was India's 250th home Test.
The home team had earlier finished its second innings at 263 in 76.5 overs.
Following Rohit Sharma's 82-run knock yesterday, Wriddhiman Saha also picked up his second successive half-century of the match by scoring a 120-ball 58, laced with half a dozen fours.
Faced with an improbable chase, New Zealand were off to a confident start before things went downhill in the final session of the day.
Opener Tom Latham top-scored for them with a 148-ball 74, which included eight hits to the fence. His innings gave New Zealand some hope of springing a surprise but off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin put paid to any such eventuality in just the second over after tea, inducing an edge off his bat which was comfortably taken by wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.
Besides Latham, Luke Ronchi was the only one to play an innings of significance, accounting for 32 runs (60 balls, 4x4). However, rest of the Black Caps' line-up failed to apply itself on the tricky track, exploited well by both the pacers
and spinners.
Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were the top Indian wicket-takers with hauls of 3/82 and 3/41 respectively. Among the pacers, Mohammed Shami grabbed 3/46 in a fine concerted bowling performance.
The two teams will now move to Indore for the third Test starting October 8 which would be followed by a five-match ODI series.
Ashwin celebrates a wicket with Kohli. Pic/AFP
Earlier, India wrested back the initiative from New Zealand as spinners Ashwin and Jadeja reduced the visitors to 135/3 at tea, in pursuit of a 376-run target.
Ashwin (2/62) and Jadeja (1/25) dented the tourists' fightback in the second session of the play at the Eden Gardens here.
Opener Latham notched up his ninth half-century to hold fort from one end as other top-order batsmen fell around him.
The hosts took 16 overs in the innings to get the first breakthrough. Ashwin pitched the ball fuller and it turned in from outside the off stump to catch Martin Guptill (24; 49 b, 3x4) off guard.
It was an important wicket just when the opening stand had started to look steady, engineering a partnership of 55 runs. The second-wicket stand between Latham and Henry Nicolls (24) was of 49 runs, helping the Kiwis reach 104 when Nicolls fell.
With the wicket offering a lot of turn, Jadeja made the most of it. Changing his angle to outfox Nicolls, who failed to come fully forward to cover the turn, the left-arm tweaker got the outside edge of Nicolls' bat with Rahane taking the catch at first slip.
Ross Taylor, who is standing in for indisposed captain Kane Williamson, lasted only 26 minutes in which the right-hander scored just eight runs before falling to Ashwin's guile, dismissed leg before wicket. Taylor played the wrong line leaving umpire Richard Kettleborough with an easy decision to make as the ball hit Taylor's front pad.
Earlier, resuming at 227 for eight, India were all out for 263 in their second innings.
Wriddhiman Saha, who had run out of partners in the first innings after scoring 54, once again anchored the lower order, remaining not out at 58 (120 balls, 6x4) -- his fourth Test half century.
The two overnight batsmen, Saha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (23; 51 balls, 2x4, 1x6) were involved in a 56-run partnership that helped India cross the 250-mark and set New Zealand a target which no team has ever achieved in the fourth innings at the famed ground.
The stand was broken in the 10th over of the morning session when Bhuvneshwar misjudged the bounce of Neil Wagner's delivery and offered an easy catch to short leg. It was Wagner's 99th wicket in 25 Tests.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
