Pune: India’s 12-year unbeaten streak in home Test series came to a stunning end as New Zealand clinched a historic 2-0 lead with a 113-run victory at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium here. This loss marks India’s first home Test series defeat since England’s Alastair Cook-led squad overcame the hosts 2-1 back in 2012.
Across these 12 years, India played 18 Test series, figuring in 52 Test matches, winning 42 of them, losing four, and drawing six.
The series against New Zealand ended the fairytale as the series opener in Bengaluru set the tone. Dismissed for a meagre 46 in overcast conditions in the first innings, India found themselves under early pressure. New Zealand capitalised on their advantage with Rachin Ravindra's steady century and a timely contribution from Tim Southee, establishing control despite a fighting century by Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant's 99 in a counter-attack.
The modest 107-run target was chased down comfortably by New Zealand, securing the first win. The second Test in Pune saw a similar story unfold. New Zealand's bowlers restricted India to 156 in the first innings, creating a 103-run lead that skipper Tom Latham built on with a composed 86, setting India a daunting 359 to chase. India’s chase began promisingly with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s brisk start, but the middle-order faltered, sealing India’s series defeat on home soil.
India’s reign of 18 consecutive home series wins, starting from a 2013 whitewash of Australia, ended as New Zealand’s clinical performance redefined the landscape. After India's 12-year unbeaten streak in the home Test series came to a stunning end as New Zealand clinched a historic 2-0 lead with a 113-run victory, skipper Rohit Sharma acknowledged his team’s shortcomings saying, "we failed to respond to the pressure".
Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner weaved magic with his 6-104 in the second innings on Saturday 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. 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.
Reflecting on the series, Rohit said, "We didn't bat well in the first innings. The pitch wasn't bad enough. We just didn't get close to their first innings score. As the game went on, the pitch started behaving differently. We wanted to get those runs. We lost wickets after that Gill-Yashasvi partnership. We failed to respond to the pressure," the India skipper said in the post-match press conference.
"In the last two Test matches, things have gone wrong. We won 18 series before it so we had done a lot of things right. We have played on challenging pitches in India. Things happen. When you win a lot, there will be a series where you don't execute things well. "I am not doubting anyone's ability. I don't want to do too much post-mortem. Batters need to trust their plans. The NZ batters showed us that if you play in a certain method it will work. They were ahead so they were high on confidence," he added.
