New Zealand keep cool to seal comfortable win

A solid unbeaten 75-run stand between Will Young (48*) and Rachin Ravindra (39*) saw New Zealand through to an eight-wicket win in the tricky run chase of 107 on the fifth day of the opening Test against India in Bengaluru. The visitors lost their skipper Tom Latham for a duck in the first over of the day off Jasprit Bumrah (2-29) who bowled a menacing new-ball spell. Devon Conway huffed and puffed his way to a laboured 39-ball 17 before falling prey to Bumrah. While the target of 107 seemed quite below par even with the challenging nature of the pitch, Bumrah's spell gave India a glimmer of hope.

That, however, was quickly extinguished by Young and Ravindra. The former started fluently and looked assured even against the new ball. Ravindra carried on from where he had left in the first innings and struck a couple of boundaries in his first three balls to keep the momentum going. The pair quickly got into their work and ensured the job was done in a jiffy. Much like the first innings, India sorely missed a third pacer to keep the intensity going. Apart from the rough outside the left-hander's off stump, there wasn't much for the spinners to work with and New Zealand eventually coasted home.

If missing a third seamer will now be a major talking point, Rohit Sharma's decision to bat on the second day will also be something that India will regret. New Zealand's bowlers landed a killer blow under favourable conditions by shooting India out for a paltry total of 46. With cloud cover and a damp pitch to exploit, Matt Henry (5-15) and William ORourke (4-22) came out all guns blazing against the Indian batting line-up that lacked application. Some of the dismissals were to tricky deliveries but there were also quite a few soft dismissals as New Zealand relentlessly kept the pressure on.

Conway did have a horror little knock in the second innings but it was his counterattacking innings of 91 that set New Zealand up in the first innings. The left-hander did have his share of struggles even at that point but found ways to deal with the challenges and also peppered the fence with a plethora of boundaries. India, however, briefly managed to fight back as they reduced New Zealand to 233/7 after the visitors had initially gotten themselves to 142/1. The home side would have hoped to limit the first innings deficit but Ravindra (134) conjured up his second Test ton to deflate the Indian bowlers.

The young left-hander handled pace and spin with elan, and showed an impressive range against the slower bowlers by taking them on. Ravindra's onslaught got good support from Tim Southee (65) as they put on a match-defining partnership of 137. India's realistic chances of staging a strong fightback were thwarted by this stand. Among the several major plot points in the Test match, this phase of play was also critical to New Zealand's eventual win. Ravichandran Ashwin had a forgettable game barring the dismissal of Conway while Jadeja and Kuldeep were effective only in patches.

New Zealand ultimately ended with a massive first innings lead of 356 - the kind of figure that effectively pushes the opposition to a point of no return. However, India didn't go down without a fight as they put up a much stronger second innings effort thanks to a stupendous ton from Sarfaraz Khan (150) alongside strong contributions from Rishabh Pant (99) and Virat Kohli (70). Rohit (52) set the tone early with an attacking fifty and most of India's top five batters got their eye in, and batted with high intent.

Kohli and Sarfaraz added 136 for the third wicket to put India on track but it was the 177-run stand between Sarfaraz and Pant that really pushed the home side towards hoping for a miraculous win. It helped the home side that their rapid scoring rate of close to five-runs-per-over had pushed the game forward considerably. At 408/3 with a lead of 52, Rohit's men seemed to have the momentum with a well-set Sarfaraz and Pant toying with the bowlers. That's when New Zealand got a lifeline in the form of the second new ball. And like on the second morning of the game, their pacers once again came to life in a critical passage of play.

It was Southee who broke the partnership by castling Sarfaraz but O'Rourke (3-92) and Henry (3-102) then sliced through the middle and lower order to wrap India's innings up in a flash. The last seven wickets fell for just 54 runs as India let slip a golden opportunity of creating a historic win. The NZ seamers got seam movement and variable bounce to which India's middle and lower order had no answers. Ravindra Jadeja had a rare bad game with the bat in Tests while KL Rahul's inconsistent run continued. With a target of 107 to win the game, it was about whether New Zealand could hold their nerves or not. And that, they did.

It was fitting for New Zealand that Ravindra was at the crease during the historic moment. After 36 long years, the Black Caps had managed to win a Test match in India and the left-hander was critical to the result. India would rue their selection blunders but they still had the chance to make a fightback at multiple points in the game. ORourke and Henry had a dream game on sub-continental soil with seven and eight wickets in the game respectively. Their spells, especially on the second day were match-sealing.

Brief scores: India 46 and 462 (Sarfaraz Khan 150, Rishabh Pant 99; William O'Rourke 3-92, Matt Henry 3-102) lost to New Zealand 402 (Rachin Ravindra 134, Devon Conway 91; Ravindra Jadeja 3-72) & 107/2 (Will Young 48*, Rachin Ravindra 39*; Jasprit Bumrah 2-29) by eight wickets.