India dominates New Zealand to win another home series!

After missing out on a win by a whisker in the first test at Kanpur, Team India bounced back, dominated and thrashed New Zealand to win the second test at Mumbai and eventually win the series. Without the likes of Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and other notable stars, New Zealand could never pose a threat and that’s what made it very easy for India.

Batting first India posted 325 on the board. Mayank scored 150 while Axar played a brilliant knock of 52 runs but the highlight of the innings was Ajaz Patel, a Mumbai born cricketer taking all the ten wickets of a match and became the third cricketer in history to do that. When New Zealand came to bat, India literally looked like playing against school cricketers. It is a big statement but the footwork was not working nor did they have the right temperament. The result being them getting all-out for 62 runs, the lowest for any team in India.

Interestingly, Virat Kohli didn’t give them a follow on and instead gave the opportunity to the Indian cricketers to get into form before the important South Africa series. Mayank scored another 50 for the team while others contributed their bit as India scored 276 and decided to declare the innings.

Naturally it was a mountain to climb for the Kiwis specially when the bowl was turning so much. Again, no one could pose any threat as Ashwin and Jayank Yadav picked four each while Axar picked one to close the innings as India won the match by 372 runs.

With this win, India has registered their biggest win in the history of test cricket (by runs) and New Zealand has registered their biggest defeat in the history (by runs). There were a lot of positives as Mayank got back in touch, Cheteshwar looked decent and most importantly, India winning series’ without the likes of Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma played one of the two matches. Shreyas Iyer has also proved his worth in the middle order and Rahane will now face a direct challenge from him for the 3rd down position.

Mayank Agarwal was picked as the Man of the Match award even when Ajaz Patel took 14 in one match. Nothing against Mayank, he had a brilliant match and scored 212 runs in the match but taking 10 wickets in an innings is something that happens once in a lifetime. After winning the award, the opening batsman said, “It feels good to be back among the runs and this knock is special for me. I didn't change anything from Kanpur, I just had the mental discipline and determination. The technique isn't going to be the best all the time, it won't guarantee runs, but the will to fight is key”.

When asked about Rahul Dravid’s impact on his innings he said, “Rahul bhai told me about not thinking of technique mid-series, and told me this is the technique that's got me runs”.

To everyone’s surprise, Ravichandran Ashwin was given the Man of the Series award. In the post match conference he said, “I enjoyed Wankhede honestly, and everyday there was something new, and I could challenge both edges”. Speaking about Ajaz Patel’s performance, the off spinner said, “It was a wonderful performance by Ajaz. It doesn't spin all the time in Wankhede, and he used the seam and put the ball in the right places, and there was a bit of destiny involved in his 10-for too”.

Captain Virat Kohli was delighted with the win. He said, “To come back with a win again, it's a great feeling and a clinical performance. You want individuals to step up. The first Test was good, and it was a clinical performance here. We discussed the performance and the opposition played out a good draw. The bowlers tried all their best, but the Kiwi batsmen stuck it out really well in Kanpur. Here there was more bounce and the fast bowlers got assistance as well, so it gave us a better chance to win the Test match”.