India lose 1st home series since 2012 as Santner hands New Zealand historic win

An almighty collapse after and Mitchell Santer's impressive bowling performance handed India their first home series loss in 11 years as New Zealand won the Pune Test by 113 runs on October 26, Saturday.

In Short

• Santner picked up a total of 13 wickets
• Yashasvi Jaiswal starred for India with bat by scoring 77 runs
• India lost a home series for the first time in 4331 days

The Indian team was handed their first home series defeat in 11 years as Mitchell Santner starred once again to give New Zealand a historic win in the Pune Test. The victory meant that it was New Zealand's first series on Indian soil, with Santner picking up a total of 13 wickets in the match. The Indian batters, apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal, completely crumbled after the lunch session on Day 3 of the second Test as they faltered in the run chase of 359 runs.

The day started with New Zealand on 198 for 5 and a lead of 301 runs. Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips would have a shaky start but they were able to pile on some valuable runs before Ravindra Jadeja provided the much-needed breakthrough. Jadeja setup Blundell well before an arm ball cleaned up the Blackcaps wicketkeeper. Jadeja and Ashwin would trouble the batters with their spin, with the former claiming Santner and Ajaz Patel. Ashwin would get Southee and a brilliant bit of fielding from Jadeja ensured New Zealand were bundled out for 255 runs.

IND vs NZ, 2nd Test 3rd Day: Highlights | Scorecard

The Indian innings got off to a sensational start as Jaiswal hit Southee for a towering six. The southpaw would take the attack to the New Zealand spinners in grand fashion as runs started to flow. However, Rohit Sharma's poor run continued as he was dismissed by Santner. But Jaiswal got the perfect partner in Shubman Gill and the duo ensured India got to a strong position at lunch with the score at 81 for 1 in just 12 overs.

However, after lunch, India would lose the plot as a stunned Pune crowd would watch in silence. Gill was the first to go as Santner delivered an absolute peach to get the star batter out. Jaiswal would continue to play his shots and got to his fifty in just 41 balls. The southpaw and Kohli would have a partnership going before Santner would get Jaiswal for 77.

The left-arm spinner was once again in the thick of the action as a mix-up from Kohli and Rishabh Pant saw the wicketkeeper-batter get run-out for a duck. The onus was then on Kohli and he would suffer failure again to Santner, who trapped him infront of the stumps for 17.

Santner then took his second 5-wicket haul of the game by cleaning up Sarfaraz Khan as India was only denying the inevitable by that point. Glenn Phillips would get Washington Sundar as India were left with Jadeja and Ashwin in the end.

A brief partnership from the duo got India past the 200-run mark before Santner got Ashwin out as New Zealand would come closer and closer to the win. Akash Deep would offer company to Jadeja as he defended well for 23 balls to score 1 run before a rash shot by him meant that India lost their 9th wicket.

Jadeja and Bumrah reduced the deficit but Ajaz would get the wicket of the all-rounder as India was bundled out for 245 runs as New Zealand won the match by 113.

India outclassed, outsmarted and beaten by spin once again

Before the New Zealand series began, India had a clear goal to win all 3 matches before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy down under. The aim was the World Test Championship final for the third time running but what has happened in Bengaluru and Pune has left everyone with more questions than answers.

The Indian team and their captain Rohit have been completely outclassed in all facets of the game with questions being asked about captaincy as well. The batting order's collapse on Friday made Simon Doull make the statement that Indian batters weren't good players of spin like in previous years, and it was also evident during the Sri Lanka ODI series earlier in the year.

“I think it is a misconception around the world now that these modern Indian players are better playing spin than anyone else. They are not. They are the same as everyone else around the world,” Doull said on JioCinema during the lunch break on Friday.

“Gone are the days of Ganguly, Gambhir, Laxman and Dravid. Sachin was so, so good against spin, and the era before them,” he added.

There, questions were once again raised as to how the batters struggled against spin and the same discussion will happen after the loss in Pune. Rohit's captaincy, which was hailed during the England and Bangladesh series, is suddenly being called defensive and uninspiring.

Australia may not give a test by spin but the character of these players will now surely be under the scanner. A series clean sweep will be something now India will look to avoid in Mumbai and get some momentum before the trip down under.

Williamson-less New Zealand show character

When New Zealand arrived at Indian shores, not a lot of people would have given them a chance to claim the series. They received a battering in Sri Lanka and were minus one of their modern-day greats in Kane Williamson.

But Bengaluru and Pune showed that the Blackcaps are a team with a lot of character and sticking to their strengths. The likes of Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra put the Indian spinners off their mark from the get-go and disrupted the whole rhythm of the hosts.

The fielding and Latham's captaincy was on point and Santner's resurgence set the stage for what was in no means a heist. They could be far away from getting a spot in the WTC final but the new cycle will surely be one where the Blackcaps could be a team that will be contesting for the mace.