Indian skipper Virat Kohli hailed his “clinical” side after they hammered New Zealand by 372 runs to win the second Test on Monday and clinch the series 1-0.
Spinner Ashwin Ravichandran claimed a match tally of eight wickets – and 300th wicket on home soil – as India usurped the Black Caps as the world’s top-ranked Test side.
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New Zealand, who started day four on 140/5 in their chase of an improbable 540, were all out for 167 before lunch in Mumbai.
It was tough on New Zealand’s Mumbai-born spinner Ajaz Patel, who had made history with 10 wickets in the first innings.
New Zealand, who doggedly hung on for a draw in the opening match of the two-Test series, were undone by their batting after Ajaz’s heroics.
They collapsed to 62 all out in their first innings and were never in the chase against India’s spin force.
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Kohli, who returned to lead India after he stepped down as national T20 captain and took a short break, said: “To come back with a win is a great feeling, returning as the captain it was a clinical performance, something we’ve seen time and again.
“You want individuals to step up, and guys did that. Even the first Test match was good, this was better.”
Ajaz remained the lone performer for New Zealand, who became the World Test champions after beating India in the title clash in June.
His 14 wickets against India surpassed England fast bowler Ian Botham’s 13/106 in Mumbai in 1980.
“It’s a special occasion for me and my family. To be able to do that (10-for) is special,” Ajaz said after the match.
“I’m knackered but I’ll use my quarantine time to recover. It’s a different challenge to bowl back home. That’s the beauty of Test cricket, it’s about adapting your game plan and bowling accordingly.”
India batting averages
| Player | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR Patel | 4 | 124 | 52 | 62.00 | 53.91 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MA Agarwal | 4 | 242 | 150 | 60.50 | 48.40 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| SS Iyer | 4 | 202 | 105 | 50.50 | 58.55 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Shubman Gill | 4 | 144 | 52 | 36.00 | 59.50 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| WP Saha | 4 | 102 | 61* | 34.00 | 48.11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| RA Jadeja | 2 | 50 | 50 | 25.00 | 43.85 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| CA Pujara | 4 | 95 | 47 | 23.75 | 42.60 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| R Ashwin | 3 | 70 | 38 | 23.33 | 58.82 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| AM Rahane | 2 | 39 | 35 | 19.50 | 50.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| V Kohli | 2 | 36 | 36 | 18.00 | 40.90 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
India bowling averages
| Player | Inns | Overs | Mdns | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed Siraj | 2 | 9.0 | 2 | 3 | 3/19 | 3/32 | 10.66 | 3.55 | 18.0 | 0 |
| R Ashwin | 4 | 103.0 | 33 | 14 | 4/8 | 8/42 | 11.35 | 1.54 | 44.1 | 0 |
| J Yadav | 2 | 16.0 | 4 | 5 | 4/49 | 5/62 | 12.40 | 3.87 | 19.2 | 0 |
| AR Patel | 4 | 74.1 | 23 | 9 | 5/62 | 6/85 | 15.66 | 1.90 | 49.4 | 1 |
| RA Jadeja | 2 | 61.0 | 20 | 5 | 4/40 | 5/97 | 19.40 | 1.59 | 73.2 | 0 |
| UT Yadav | 4 | 40.0 | 8 | 2 | 1/34 | 2/84 | 55.00 | 2.75 | 120.0 | 0 |
| I Sharma | 2 | 22.0 | 6 | 0 | - | - | - | 2.50 | - | 0 |
New Zealand batting averages
| Player | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWM Latham | 4 | 163 | 95 | 40.75 | 35.66 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| DJ Mitchell | 2 | 68 | 60 | 34.00 | 66.01 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| WA Young | 4 | 115 | 89 | 28.75 | 42.59 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| KS Williamson | 2 | 42 | 24 | 21.00 | 23.86 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R Ravindra | 4 | 53 | 18* | 17.66 | 29.60 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| HM Nicholls | 4 | 54 | 44 | 13.50 | 34.83 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| KA Jamieson | 4 | 45 | 23 | 11.25 | 31.03 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| WER Somerville | 4 | 43 | 36 | 10.75 | 22.05 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TA Blundell | 4 | 23 | 13 | 5.75 | 14.19 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| LRPL Taylor | 4 | 20 | 11 | 5.00 | 32.25 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
New Zealand bowling averages
| Player | Inns | Overs | Mdns | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AY Patel | 4 | 120.0 | 25 | 17 | 10/119 | 14/225 | 22.05 | 3.12 | 42.3 | 1 | 1 |
| TG Southee | 4 | 84.4 | 16 | 8 | 5/69 | 8/144 | 27.25 | 2.57 | 63.5 | 1 | 0 |
| KA Jamieson | 4 | 60.2 | 17 | 6 | 3/40 | 6/131 | 30.33 | 3.01 | 60.3 | 0 | 0 |
| R Ravindra | 4 | 33.0 | 6 | 3 | 3/56 | 3/76 | 40.33 | 3.66 | 66.0 | 0 | 0 |
| DJ Mitchell | 1 | 5.0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | - | 1.80 | - | 0 | 0 |
| WER Somerville | 4 | 69.0 | 4 | 0 | - | - | - | 3.43 | - | 0 | 0 |
Inputs from AFP