New Zealand secured an eight-wicket win on Sunday to mark their first test victory in India since 1988 as the Black Caps chased down 107 and humbled the home side early on the final day of the rain-interrupted series opener.
After bowling out the hosts for their worst home total of 46 and making 402 in reply, the visitors bowled out Rohit Sharma’s side for 462 in the second innings on Saturday to lay the platform for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
When play got underway after the rain delay, the visitors got off to a wobbly start: new permanent skipper Latham was trapped leg-before-wicket by Jasprit Bumrah on the second ball of the day for a duck with the tourists yet to score.
Bumrah and fellow pace bowler Mohammed Siraj caused problems early in the day for the New Zealand batsmen as India set out on the task of doing what no team has ever done in test history-to win a match after conceding a first innings lead of more than 350 runs.
Till then, a few painful body blows, some balls whizzing past the blade, and an uncordial stare or two from the bowlers in the face of jeers from the partisan fans at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium had given Conway the sign language to fall lbw to Bumrah for 17.
The wicket seemed to have turned placid once the first-innings centurion Ravindra came onto the crease, and this Wellington-born left-hander with roots in Bengaluru superbly steered New Zealand out of rough waters before Young hit the winning runs.
Rohit was disappointed with the way India’s first innings went, but he then spoke of the positives of their second innings, the one in which Sarfaraz Khan finally got 150 – and Rishabh Pant hit 99 – to give them a fighting chance.
