New Zealand are rocking top-class Test crickets

Pune: New Zealand's first-ever Test series victory in India, ending the home side's unbeaten run of 18 series and 12 years, is a towering achievement. Now more than ever, given the increasing inequality between the haves (the Big Three of Australia, England and India) and the have nots (other Test sides).

With a small pool of players from which to select the national teams, there is little New Zealand cricket can do to prevent cricketers from preferring franchise cricket. Casual contracts that allow their players to move in and out of national duties for T20 competitions have become an accepted practice.

Amidst all this, New Zealand assembled a squad of 16 intent on shaking up India's Test side, structured on feeding schedules and a determined mentality to win in unfamiliar climes. Australia tried to do it the way they know best, by going the aggressive route. They even brought in an Ashwin-like spinner from Baroda for net sessions to familiarize themselves with the action of India's premier off-spinner. It wasn't enough as India won the series 2-1.

England tried to Bazball India with the bat early this year. Their brains rely on fast off-spinner Shoaib Bashir with 10 County wickets at an average of 67 so they could take advantage of his higher release point on Indian pitches with spin and bounce. It caused a stir. England won the first Test – before bowing out as the hosts won the series 4-1.

Ultimately, it took an organized approach, simulating the hard yards, simulating Indian conditions and applying years of white-ball experience from IPL to Test cricket, appropriately by Crickets' perennial underdogs New Zealand.

Having two Test matches in Sri Lanka…nothing prepares you like playing tough Test cricket. Being there beforehand and understanding similar playing spin conditions certainly helped, New Zealand skipper Tom Latham said after Saturday's 113-run win.

Even before landing in Sri Lanka, batsman Rachin Ravindra scored 65 in Pune after 134 and 39* in Bengaluru – made the trip to the Chennai Super Kings academy to get used to black ground and red ground surfaces and to hone various game plans.

Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, whose 13 wickets came in Pune after playing just 28 Tests in nine years and taking 54 wickets, put all his white-ball experiences to good use on a dry surface that demanded spinners to constantly attack the stumps. That he could surpass his accuracy with subtle changes in speeds and angles to beat the master of this stock Ravindra Jadeja, his teammate at CSK, for whom he has played just 18 matches since his IPL debut in 2019, taking 15 wickets , was a big step forward in deciding on the second test.

Obviously the wickets he got… but I think what will go unnoticed is the number of overs he has bowled back-to-back and how he can maintain a threat during that time, Latham said. I keep trying to take him off but he keeps taking a wicket. So I said you can continue. Look, I can't praise him enough in terms of what he did this game. He was just fantastic.

Even Devon Conway's first-innings efforts – 91 in Pune and 76 in Bengaluru – were the result of his positive game against spin, perfected during his time at CSK. Conway was comfortable bringing out the broom both conventionally and in reverse as a scoring option against spin to disrupt the length of the Indian spinners.

You could argue that India got the short end of the stick after the two throws; even though they grossly misread the pitch in Bengaluru. If the Bengaluru Test saw a capricious turn of events with rain and sky conditions making New Zealand's task easier, they won fair and square in Pune, as Indian as the conditions could be. Their spinners found the right formula to outwit India's famous batsmen, and their batsmen, each using their own methods, found ways to frustrate India's experienced tweakers. They would be proud of that, and it showed in their lavish celebrations.

I'm a little lost for words. It's clearly a hugely proud moment for this group, Latham said. A lot of New Zealand teams have come here over the last 69 years, I think, and in 13 series it's extremely special to be the first team here to win a series.

A long evening of celebration may have followed. New Zealand fully deserves it for shaking up the Test cricket establishment.