At the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, India and New Zealand concluded the second Test of their current three-match series with a resounding victory for the visitors. India had wanted to improve on their performance in the second Test match and win after losing the first.
But things did not go as planned for the hosts. Only 156 runs were scored by India in response to giving up 259 runs in the first innings. Additionally, New Zealand scored 255 runs in the second innings, leaving India with a 359-run goal to meet.
However, the run chase did get off to a fast start for the hosts, but after a few wickets, everything fell apart. India’s second innings began with scores of 77 and 8 runs from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, respectively. While Rishabh Pant was dismissed for a duck, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli had respective scores of 23 and 17.
It was Washington Sundar who batted next, with all hopes resting on India’s lower-middle order. But he was removed after only managing to score 21 runs. In addition to Ravindra Jadeja’s 42 runs, Ravichandran Ashwin also contributed 18 runs. In the second innings, the Indian side was dismissed for 245 runs, and New Zealand won the second Test by 113 runs. The series was also won by Auckland.
During the second innings, Mitchell Santner took the most wickets for the visitors, taking six. Additionally, Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips claimed two and one wicket, respectively. The Indian squad is still leading the World Test Championship standings at the moment, despite the series defeat.
Also Read: IND VS NZ 2nd Test: Top 10 Memes from IND vs NZ, 2nd Test
In the third Test, the team will aim for a consolation victory before the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar series in Australia, which begins on November 22.
Updated WTC Points Table after second India v New Zealand Test:
Pos. | Team | Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Points | PCT (%) |
1 | INDIA | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 98 | 62.82 |
2 | AUSTRALIA | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 90 | 62.50 |
3 | SRI LANKA | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 55.56 |
4 | NEW ZEALAND | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 60 | 50.00 |
5 | SOUTH AFRICA | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 47.62 |
6 | ENGLAND | 19 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 93 | 40.79 |
7 | PAKISTAN | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 33.33 |
8 | BANGLADESH | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 33 | 30.56 |
9 | WEST INDIES | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 18.52 |