Santner leads New Zealand to first Test series win in India

PUNE, India (AP):

MITCHELL SANTNER’S career-best haul of 13 wickets spearheaded New Zealand to its first Test series triumph in India yesterday.

India were set an unlikely 359 to win the second Test and were bowled out for 245 after tea to lose by 113 runs inside three days.

Clinching the series with a Test to spare sent the New Zealanders into a celebratory group hug in the middle of Maharashtra Stadium.

“For us to do it for the first time in history, it is very hard to describe this,” allrounder Glenn Phillips said. “It is long graft and grind.”

New Zealand ended India’s record run of 18 consecutive home Test series victories dating to 2012.

The Black Caps capped an extraordinary week for New Zealand cricket. The women’s team won their first T20 World Cup in Dubai last Sunday, the same day the men won their first Test in India in 36 years.

Both were surprising.

The men came to India after losing the series in Sri Lanka, with a new captain, and without their best batter, Kane Williamson.

Also, Santner’s Test place was criticised, but he produced the third best bowling figures for a New Zealander in a men’s Test with his 13-157 in Pune, after Richard Hadlee’s 15 against Australia in 1985 and Ajaz Patel’s 14 against India in 2021.

Following his 7-53 in the first innings – his maiden Test five-for – Santner claimed 6-104 in the second while enduring side soreness. He dismissed Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin and ran out Rishabh Pant.

“I feel a little sore (after bowling unchanged from one end), but you have to keep going,” Santner said.

“Every time I got a wicket, it felt better. I just tried to land the ball in the same spot with little changes in pace.”

New Zealand has toured India since 1955 and managed to win only two Tests before this series, in 1969 and 1988.

“We are proud to be in this position. It is a really special feeling and a whole team effort,” Latham said.

“Putting runs on the board at the start was really important. Santner was fantastic. We have had to adapt to different surfaces and we did that very well. The last two wickets took an age, but we were really happy when it happened.”

New Zealand started the day 301 runs ahead and could add only 58 more runs before they were all out for 255.

Off-spinner Washington Sundar took 4-56 in the innings and 11-115 in the match.

India reached 81-1 by lunch after losing captain Sharma, caught at short leg on 8.

Jaiswal and Gill were attacking, and India looked comfortable as they shared 62 in 10 overs for the second wicket.

Santner separated them in the 16th over – Gill was caught at slip for 23.

There was another short partnership – 31 runs – between Jaiswal and Kohli, before Santner dealt another crushing blow. Jaiswal was caught at slip for 77 off 65 balls, after hitting nine fours and three sixes.

Pant was then run out for a duck, and when Kohli was trapped for 17 at 147-5, the crowd of nearly 29,000 knew the writing was on the wall.

India slipped to 167-7 as Santner ran through the batting card.

Jadeja resisted with a late 42 but India lost a third home Test in a calendar year for the first time since 1983.

“It is not what we expected,” Sharma said. “New Zealand played better than us. We failed to capitalise on certain moments and didn’t bat well enough to get runs on the board. You have to take 20 wickets to win a Test, but batters have to put runs on the board.”

The third Test begins in Mumbai on Friday.