India completed their whitewash of New Zealand yesterday. It was supposed to happen. It happened. It was as if it was inevitable. New Zealand are one of the most improved sides in the world in last 2-3 years. Everyone believed that they can threaten India in India. But, they couldn't. It was not meant to be.
All three games almost followed a set pattern. India winning all three tosses, opting to bat first in all of them. In Kanpur(which is my current hometown), India won the toss and made an okay looking 318. It was not supposed to be enough. New Zealand were 255-5 at one stage and they collapsed to 262. To me, that was the series defining moment. New Zealand could never really recover from that trauma over next two matches. They just went straight downhill from there. India simply crushed them in second innings by setting a target of 434 runs. Defeat was inevitable. 1-0 up. It was India's 500th test match. Way to make a history.
In Kolkata, things were expected to change. But, they didn't. India again won the toss and made 316. The only other time they made 316 in Kolkata, they had lost to England in 2012. This time, they were around 100 above par. England were a storm that time with KP and cooky on absolute fire. New Zealand are a struggling team at the moment. They collapsed to 204 and that was the game. They did come back with the ball in second innings and had India at 43 for 4 at one stage and then once again let India get away with it. Saha completely changed his status from a wicket-keeper to a solid no. 7 batsman in this match. India can count on him it seems, when it comes down to batting with the tail. This win was more important as the final script was written by Indian fast bowlers rather than duo of Ashwin-Jadeja. India showed quality of fast bowling and their seamers destroyed kiwis this time. 2-0 up. Series done and dusted.
In Indore, India completed the annihilation of kiwis. They lost just 8 wickets in the match and beat New Zealand by 321 runs, their second biggest win in terms of number of runs. Kohli and Rahane batted them out of the game in the first innings itself. From there on, it was just matter of time. Kohli got his second double century as captain. He is really having an outstanding time as test team captain. Rahane, simply brilliant. Gambhir's comeback was quite nice too. He did contribute with quick-fire 50 in second innings, which set the tone of the declaration. Pujara finally getting a ton after getting out between 50-100 so many times. Then, Ashwin doing the rest of the ceremony. Ashwin picked up 13 for 140 in the match, his best figures in a test ever. He finished with 27 wickets in 3 matches, which is second only to Harbhajan singh's 32 wickets in 3 match series (against Australia in a memorable series in 2001). He picked up his 21st five-wicket haul, his sixth ten-wicket match haul, his seventh Player of the Match award and seventh Player of the Series award - fourth in a row - as well. There probably isn't a more influential cricketer anywhere in the world today. Certainly no one has played a bigger part in India securing the No. 1 Test ranking. He is just having an amazing period and India are flourishing because of it. It is such a great period in Indian test cricket history.
Let us all be clear. New Zealand didn't lose the test series, because they lost all three tosses. They didn't lose because Williamson was not available in the second test at Kolkata. They didn't lose because they are without McCullum. They lost simply against a better team. India are a master of their home conditions and it would have taken a miracle from their batters to avoid this whitewash. Although, poor forms of Guptill, Williamson, Taylor and Watling didn't help the cause. Watling is under radar now. He hasn't scored as many runs as he would have liked to for a while now. Taylor too. For Williamson, it was a rare failure. Guptill showed glimpses of his form at Indore. Sadly, glimpses don't win you games. Hundreds and five-fors do. New Zealand lacked both of them.
Coming to New Zealand's spin trio of Jeetan Patel, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi (Craig was injured), they are simply too inexperienced in Indian conditions. Santner is young and this tour will be one hell of a boost for him as a learning experience. Neesham deserves to be given a long run in the side for that all-rounder slot. He looked okay while batting in first innings in Indore. All-in-all, New Zealand have got a lot on their plate right now, and Mike Hesson needs to address these issues quickly. I believe they will provide a better challenge in five match ODI series which is going to start from 16th October, 2016. They have got some quality players of limited over cricket and it is going to be an exciting series.
So, New Zealand white-washed. England is next. Can't wait for that series to start.
All three games almost followed a set pattern. India winning all three tosses, opting to bat first in all of them. In Kanpur(which is my current hometown), India won the toss and made an okay looking 318. It was not supposed to be enough. New Zealand were 255-5 at one stage and they collapsed to 262. To me, that was the series defining moment. New Zealand could never really recover from that trauma over next two matches. They just went straight downhill from there. India simply crushed them in second innings by setting a target of 434 runs. Defeat was inevitable. 1-0 up. It was India's 500th test match. Way to make a history.
In Kolkata, things were expected to change. But, they didn't. India again won the toss and made 316. The only other time they made 316 in Kolkata, they had lost to England in 2012. This time, they were around 100 above par. England were a storm that time with KP and cooky on absolute fire. New Zealand are a struggling team at the moment. They collapsed to 204 and that was the game. They did come back with the ball in second innings and had India at 43 for 4 at one stage and then once again let India get away with it. Saha completely changed his status from a wicket-keeper to a solid no. 7 batsman in this match. India can count on him it seems, when it comes down to batting with the tail. This win was more important as the final script was written by Indian fast bowlers rather than duo of Ashwin-Jadeja. India showed quality of fast bowling and their seamers destroyed kiwis this time. 2-0 up. Series done and dusted.
In Indore, India completed the annihilation of kiwis. They lost just 8 wickets in the match and beat New Zealand by 321 runs, their second biggest win in terms of number of runs. Kohli and Rahane batted them out of the game in the first innings itself. From there on, it was just matter of time. Kohli got his second double century as captain. He is really having an outstanding time as test team captain. Rahane, simply brilliant. Gambhir's comeback was quite nice too. He did contribute with quick-fire 50 in second innings, which set the tone of the declaration. Pujara finally getting a ton after getting out between 50-100 so many times. Then, Ashwin doing the rest of the ceremony. Ashwin picked up 13 for 140 in the match, his best figures in a test ever. He finished with 27 wickets in 3 matches, which is second only to Harbhajan singh's 32 wickets in 3 match series (against Australia in a memorable series in 2001). He picked up his 21st five-wicket haul, his sixth ten-wicket match haul, his seventh Player of the Match award and seventh Player of the Series award - fourth in a row - as well. There probably isn't a more influential cricketer anywhere in the world today. Certainly no one has played a bigger part in India securing the No. 1 Test ranking. He is just having an amazing period and India are flourishing because of it. It is such a great period in Indian test cricket history.
Let us all be clear. New Zealand didn't lose the test series, because they lost all three tosses. They didn't lose because Williamson was not available in the second test at Kolkata. They didn't lose because they are without McCullum. They lost simply against a better team. India are a master of their home conditions and it would have taken a miracle from their batters to avoid this whitewash. Although, poor forms of Guptill, Williamson, Taylor and Watling didn't help the cause. Watling is under radar now. He hasn't scored as many runs as he would have liked to for a while now. Taylor too. For Williamson, it was a rare failure. Guptill showed glimpses of his form at Indore. Sadly, glimpses don't win you games. Hundreds and five-fors do. New Zealand lacked both of them.
Coming to New Zealand's spin trio of Jeetan Patel, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi (Craig was injured), they are simply too inexperienced in Indian conditions. Santner is young and this tour will be one hell of a boost for him as a learning experience. Neesham deserves to be given a long run in the side for that all-rounder slot. He looked okay while batting in first innings in Indore. All-in-all, New Zealand have got a lot on their plate right now, and Mike Hesson needs to address these issues quickly. I believe they will provide a better challenge in five match ODI series which is going to start from 16th October, 2016. They have got some quality players of limited over cricket and it is going to be an exciting series.
So, New Zealand white-washed. England is next. Can't wait for that series to start.
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