By Shrivathsa Sridhar
BENGALURU (Reuters) -New Zealand sealed their first test win in India since 1988 after chasing down a tricky target in hostile conditions to overcome the hosts by eight wickets on the final day of the first test on Sunday.
After dismissing India for their lowest home total of 46 and making 402 in reply, New Zealand bowled out Rohit Sharma’s side for 462 in the second innings to lay the platform for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Will Young (48 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (39 not out) remained calm in the pressure storm after the loss of two early wickets to help New Zealand score the 107 needed, earning their team only a third win on Indian soil in 69 years.
That New Zealand achieved the famous result in the absence of injured batting mainstay Kane Williamson was credit to their belief, as they became only the third team after England and Australia to beat India at home since 2013.
Pace bowlers Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke claimed a combined 15 wickets in the match.
“It was extremely difficult,” said new captain Tom Latham, who took the role permanently after Tim Southee stepped down following their 2-0 defeat in Sri Lanka last month.
“There have been a lot of teams that have come here over a long period of time. It was 36 years ago that we last won here so it’s a really special feeling to be in this position.
“The work we did in the first and second innings with the ball and bat really set the game up for us. It’s a proud moment for this group and one we’ll celebrate.”
BAD START
New Zealand got off to a bad start when play began after a rain delay when Latham fell lbw to Jasprit Bumrah to the second ball of the day for a duck.
Bumrah and fellow pace bowler Mohammed Siraj made life difficult for the New Zealand batsmen, as India looked to do what no team have done in test history and win a match after conceding a first-innings lead of more than 350 runs.
Devon Conway endured painful body blows, balls that whizzed past the blade and unfriendly glares from the bowlers amid jeers from partisan fans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium before falling lbw to Bumrah for 17.
The wicket appeared to turn placid after the arrival of first-innings centurion Ravindra, and the Wellington-born left-hander with roots in Bengaluru superbly steered New Zealand out of rough waters before Young hit the winning runs.
Rohit rued India’s batting effort in the first innings but took the positives from their second, where Sarfaraz Khan made 150 and Rishabh Pant hit 99 to give them a fighting chance to avoid only a fifth home loss in 11 years.
“It was brilliant, especially being behind in the game. It’s easy to let the game drift away but that’s not what this team is about. This team wants to fight back, stay in the game as long as possible and not give in to the opposition,” Rohit said.
“I thought except the first couple of hours, three hours (on day one), we played very good test cricket.”
The series, which also features matches in Pune and Mumbai, is part of the World Test Championship.
India arrived in Bengaluru seeking a big win over the 2021 champions to improve their chances of making a third successive final in June 2025, but will now need to battle to keep alive their run of 18 straight home series victories since 2012.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue and William Mallard)
