When New Zealand entered their three-Test series against India, many did not give them even a chance to win one game. But outstanding performances with bat and ball, besides seizing big moments, have helped them get their first Test win in India after 1988 with an eight-wicket victory at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Set to win and facing the first morning of the final day of the first Test facing being delayed by rain, New Zealand had to push for every run, especially in a masterly Jasprit Bumrah, who produced extraordinary skill and control with the new ball as he took two early scalps and was driven on by a raucous home crowd.
But Will Young, filling in at No. 3 after Kane Williamson was ruled out due to an injury, looked positive at 48 not out and even received good support from the free-flowing Rachin Ravindra as New Zealand now becomes just the third team to beat India in India in the last decade and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Those decisions came to haunt India as they lost toss, poor team combination, and, most shockingly, crashed to 46 all out in the first essay of the game, as, though bouncing well back in the second innings before losing seven wickets to the second new ball on day four.
On the second ball of day five's play, India finally got its first breakthrough in defense of 107 as Jasprit Bumrah trapped Tom Latham lbw for a six-ball lbw with the one seaming back in. With Bumrah getting the ball to talk, Devon Conway was jumpy at the crease due to the pacer beating both his edges.
Young finally helped New Zealand get its first boundary of the chase in the eighth over as he glanced Mohammed Siraz for four. Then came a bouncy and skipping Conway who got two boundaries off Bumrah. The young man was astute enough to hammer Siraz for two fours, after which Conway put one off Bumrah through the gap for four.
Bumrah was finally rewarded for his persistence when he got one to swing in after pitching and beat Conway's outside edge to trap him lbw for 17. Rachin Ravindra straightaway got into the groove by opening the face of the bat to steer Bumrah through gully, before flicking off his wrists to get another boundary.
New Zealand came closer to winning the game when Young hit two fours off Jadeja – one was a top-edge over the keeper and the other was an excellent cut through point. Ravindra also cut Jadeja for four, before Young danced down the pitch to flick through mid-wicket for six off Kuldeep Yadav.
Ravindra continued to time his shots to perfection when he slammed a cracking drive and slogged over mid-wicket off Kuldeep for two fours, before sweeping him through the gap at square leg for another boundary. Young brought up New Zealand's hundred with a reverse-sweep off Ravichandran Ashwin for four, before he hit the winning runs through a cut off Jadeja beating short third man for four to get a memorable Test win for New Zealand.
Brief Scores: India 46 and 462 lost to New Zealand 402 and 110/2 in 27.4 overs (Will Young 48 not out, Rachin Ravindra 39 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 2-29) by eight wickets.
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