The Indian cricket team’s streak of not losing a Test series at home came to an end after 12 years and 18 series. New Zealand won the first two out of three Tests to take an unassailable 2-0 lead and fulfilled the 69-year-old dream of defeating India in India for the first time. The Kiwi team has been visiting India since 1955. The question arises as to how New Zealand accomplished such a great feat. How did the Kiwis do what teams like Australia and England could not do in the last 12 years? Answers to these questions in 5 factors… First factor – New Zealand came with good preparation
Before the India tour, the New Zealand team has played a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. The Kiwi team had to face a 0-2 defeat there, but its players got good practice of playing in spin friendly conditions. This practice proved useful in the first two Test matches against India. Second factor – The Indian team lagged behind in both pace and spin competition
Two Test matches have been played in this series so far. For the first Test, the Indian management had prepared a flat track. However, due to rain and overcast conditions, the conditions during the first Test match in Bengaluru proved to be helpful for seam and swing bowling. Kiwi fast bowlers took full advantage there. A rank turner pitch was prepared for the second Test match. That is, there was help for spinners from the first day in the Pune Test. This time Kiwi spinners like Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel performed better than the Indian spinners. Third factor – Batting flopped in the first innings in both the Tests
The flop show of the batsmen in the first innings in both the Test matches proved to be costly for India. In the first innings of the first Test, the Indian team was all out for 46 runs. Due to this, India fell so far behind in the match that despite scoring 462 runs in the second innings, it had to face defeat. In the second Test match also, the Indian team collapsed for just 156 runs in its first innings. New Zealand scored above 250 in both its innings. Due to this, India got an almost impossible target of 359 runs to win the match in the last innings on a spin friendly track. Team India collapsed for 245 runs in the second innings. Fourth factor – Had to pay the price for taking New Zealand lightly
The New Zealand team has been visiting India since 1955, but it had never managed to win a Test series here before. Because of this, the Indian management probably did not take New Zealand seriously. Just before this series, the Kiwi team had to face defeat in Sri Lanka. Most Indian fans and experts believed that winning the series from New Zealand would prove to be a cake-walk for India. The opposite happened. Fifth factor – IPL retention and mega auction became a distraction
On one hand, the India-New Zealand Test series was being played, while on the other hand, news related to IPL mega auction and players retention was making headlines. Due to this, the focus of our players also got diverted. A few days ago, Rishabh Pant was asking fans on social media whether he should go to the auction. At the same time, the team’s main off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was seen making a video and debating on which IPL team will retain which player. Many players including the team’s captain Rohit Sharma have not yet decided whether they will stay with their old team in IPL or go to the auction. Read this sports news too… India loses after winning 18 consecutive series at home: New Zealand’s first series win in India; Ashwin leaves Kumble behind New Zealand’s team has created history by winning the Pune Test. With this win against India, the Kiwi team has taken an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series. That is, they have won the series with one match remaining. New Zealand’s team has won the Test series in India for the first time. New Zealand’s team has been visiting India since 1955 but has not been able to win a Test series till now. Read the full news…
