New Zealand vs India Second Test Debrief
Last month New Zealand's Blackcaps lost two Tests in Sri Lanka and now they have won two Tests in India. Consider this the start of the Tom Latham Test captaincy era as skipper Latham stamped his mark on the team with comprehensive improvements in all aspects of Blackcaps cricket and nifty captaincy on the field.
Blackcaps won the first Test in conditions that were favourable to the regular kiwi skillset of seam bowling. All the noise leading into the second Test was about India delivering conditions that would help their efforts and conditions that everyone would expect to see when touring Asia. The only difference between these two Tests in India was how the Blackcaps destroyed their hosts.
Matt Henry snared 8 wickets in the first Test and he was replaced by Mitchell Santner who took 13w to lead Aotearoa's winning effort. Santner took 7w @ 2.7rpo in the first innings and followed it up with 6w @ 3.5rpo in the second innings, churning out the most overs of the kiwis by a hefty margin in both innings. Santner bowled 19.3ov in the first innings and Ajaz Patel was the next busiest Blackcaps bowler on 11ov, then Santner rolled through 29ov and Glenn Phillips was next on 16ov.
Santner has always looked lovely doing his bowling, batting and fielding stuff in Test cricket without parlaying aesthetics into performance. While he had a 50+ score in Sri Lanka, Santner was one of eight Blackcaps to pass 50 runs in that series (none scored a hundo) and he wasn't very effective in spinny conditions.
Part of the joy of this Test series win is Santner tapping into his blatant ability as well as the drastic change in fortune for Blackcaps from their mahi in Sri Lanka. No player sums this up more than slinky Santner...
In Sri Lanka: 66.2ov, 1w @ 197avg/2.9rpo
In India: 48.3ov, 13w @ 12avg/3.2rpo
While also battling an injury, Santner flashed his fielding ability in the run-out of Rishabh Pant. Whether it's Daryl Mitchell scooping up catches in the slips, nifty one-handers from Devon Conway and Michael Bracewell, Henry steaming around the boundary to take a sliding catch or Phillips filling the viewer with fizz as he does his usual fielding mahi; Blackcaps returned to their high fielding standards.
Santner is one of the lads who sets the standard for Blackcaps fielding and his run-out was another example of his unique skills. Few international cricketers have the ability to accurately throw with a release point around their knees and Santner does this with ease, which along with his effortless movement, speeds up the whole pick up and throw process.
Other lads had to take wickets as well. Tim Southee dismissed Rohit Sharma again in the first innings and along with Phillips' 2w, they accounted for three of India's top-five batters. Santner took 6w and executed the run-out of Pant in the second innings, while Phillips took the wicket of Washington Sundar once he was set and Ajaz Patel dismissed Ravindra Jadeja after he had faced 84 deliveries to seal the win (as part of his 2w @ 3.4rpo).
In both bowling innings, Blackcaps had to stay solid to their plans and whatever process they were working through. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill both scored 30 runs in the first innings before Santner got busy, taking India from 50/1 in the 22nd over to all out for 156 in the 46th over.
Jaiswal then whacked 77 runs @ 118sr as India lost the wicket of Sharma again early, with Gill supporting the Jaiswal onslaught. Chasing a target of 359 to win, India were on 96/1 when Gill was dismissed and then 127/2 when Jaiswal fell. Part of the viewing experience of this Test specifically, was the lingering thought of India knowing precisely how to operate in these conditions and the way they started their run chase sparked plenty of anxiety.
Throughout this Test series, in contrasting conditions, Aotearoa rode phases where they were under pressure and they never crumbled. Bowlers were attacked and India enjoyed patches where they were dominant, however Blackcaps were able to chip away with wickets and grabbed a series win because of their mental fortitude.
Contrasting conditions in these two Test wins and yet New Zealand scored runs...
First Test: 402, 110/2
Second Test: 259, 255
Devon Conway (76 runs @ 54sr) and Rachin Ravindra (65 runs @ 62sr) scored the most runs in the first innings, along with a handy knock from Santner (33 runs @ 65sr). Latham led the way in the second innings with 86 runs @ 65sr, while Tom Blundell (41 runs @ 49sr) and Glenn Phillips (48* @ 59sr) added enough runs to take the lead beyond 300 runs.
Mitchell is the only kiwi batter in this series who doesn't have a 40+ score. Ravindra is the only batter with a century and along with Conway, they are the only Blackcaps with two 50+ scores. Ravindra, Conway, Young and Latham have 100+ runs in this series.
Something else that makes this Test series win extra juicy is the absence of Kane Williamson. Aotearoa scored 100+ runs in all four innings, over 200 runs in the three innings where they were dismissed and India registered the two lowest scores of these Tests. All of that was done without Williamson.
Add in Kyle Jamieson and New Zealand just won a Test series without two of their best players in the World Test Championship, let alone two of the most effective Test Blackcaps of the last five years.
As per the debrief after what was supposed to be a rare Test victory in the first Test, this is historic stuff. Test wins and series wins in India are monumental achievements. Somehow Blackcaps have flipped four consecutive Test losses into this series win and the drastic change in their mahi completes the restoration of Blackcaps mana.
Everything about New Zealand's performance in these Test wins is aligned with the kiwi cricketing identity. Blackcaps were a far better fielding team than their hosts, they had crisp plans to take wickets and score runs, as well as gritty mahi that everyone in New Zealand can connect with to ride out adversity and pounce in key moments. Sundays in Aotearoa don't get better than basking in the glow of our sporting excellence and Blackcaps are back bringing us joy.
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