Editorial: The joy of beating India at their own game

New Zealand standout Mitchell Santner shares a word with Indian spinner Washington Sundar during the second test in Pune. Photo / Photosport

EDITORIAL

“Beat them at their own game.” That was how Mitchell Santner – the spinner whose second-test heroics ensured the Black Caps’ historic test series win in India – summed up his efforts with the ball.

Santner’s 13-wicket haul inspired a 113-run win in Pune on Saturday, recording the third-best figures by a New Zealander and the third-best for any bowler against India.

The spinner held up an end while shutting down the hosts’ chase, battling a side strain that required stretching between overs. It followed the Black Caps seamers bowling out India in Bengaluru for 46, their lowest innings total at home in test history, to set up a New Zealand win in the first test.

As the Herald’s Kris Shannon wrote:

“The comprehensive margins of the two matches reflected the gulf in quality between the sides, with the tourists thoroughly outplaying the team atop the World Test Championship standings.

“They did so while Kane Williamson remained watching from home, while Matt Henry stood on the sidelines after starring last week. They did it on pitches tailored to the strengths of India, who had begun the month riding a 14-series winning streak in their own conditions”.

With the wins in Bengaluru and Pune secured, a comeback by India in the third and final test in Mumbai this week will do little to dampen the jubilation of New Zealand fans, nor would it greatly buoy the spirits of the home side.

The plaudits were heaped on to the Black Caps by international media.

The Hindustan Times latched on to commentary from former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith, who described Santner going from “not being a good enough spinner even in first-class cricket [to] New Zealand’s national hero in three days”.

“New Zealand sealed one of the most extraordinary series victories in test match history,” wrote the UK Telegraph’s Tim Wigmore.

Apart from the history-making efforts of the Black Caps, their win was extra special because of how unexpected it was. As the Times of India put it: “A pitiful record on Indian soil and coming into the series on the backdrop of a humiliating 2-0 whitewash in Sri Lanka, no one would have imagined the Kiwis were daring enough to pull off a win against powerhouse[s] India.”

And the series win aside, there were some promising signs for New Zealand’s cricketing future during the tour.

The tall, young fast bowler Will O’Rourke proved a handful for India’s batters in the first test in Bengaluru, picking up seven wickets across both innings.

Rachin Ravindra, the 24-year-old Wellington star who surged to popularity with his batting exploits during the Cricket World Cup, also looked in command at the crease, with 247 runs across both tests.

With a changing of the guard (a new captain in Tom Latham and lingering questions over how long the likes of Tim Southee and Kane Williamson will remain in the test side), New Zealand fans can take heart that more great upsets are possible and that the next generation of Black Caps can match the feats of their World Test Championship-winning predecessors.