New Zealand celebrate Mitchell Santner's dismissal of Virat Kohli. Photo / Photosport
New Zealand celebrate Mitchell Santner's dismissal of Virat Kohli. Photo / Photosport
New Zealand have followed one of their best test wins with one of the best test performances by a New Zealander.
Mitchell Santner last night tore through an explosive batting order for the second time in as many days as the Black Caps claimed a first and famous test series victory in India.
Six days after securing an eight-wicket win in Bengaluru, Santner bowled his side to a 113-run triumph in Pune, collecting 13-157 for the third-best bowling figures in this nation’s history.
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.
They brushed off a barren record of two drawn series from 12 trips to India – 1-1 in 1969 and 0-0 in 2003 – and cast aside any ruction caused by four straight losses that prompted a captaincy change from Tim Southee to Tom Latham.
And in overcoming all those obstacles, they achieved a result unmatched even by the team who claimed the inaugural World Test Championship three years ago.
In the quarter-century since beating England at Lord’s and The Oval to earn a 2-1 triumph, New Zealand have won nine test series away from home: four in Zimbabwe, twice each against the West Indies and Bangladesh, and a 1-0 warm-up victory over England before the WTC final.
Now, they have another that towers above the rest. And in wrapping up the series before the third match in Mumbai, they had one man to thank.
On day two, the hosts desperate to hit back, Santner stunned the crowd with career-best figures of 7-53. Twenty-four hours later, with India having launched the type of attack required to overhaul a target of 359, Santner shut down the threat with 6-104.
The 32-year-old stands in history behind only Sir Richard Hadlee (15-123 against Australia in 1985) and Ajaz Patel (14-225 against India in 2021). But even Patel would acknowledge Santner’s efforts belonged on a higher level, considering they came in success rather than innings defeat.
Those efforts were decisive, locking up an end for the majority of the match while dismissing all but one Indian batter at least once, flummoxing famed opponents with changes of pace, flight, turn and bounce.
Mitchell Santner celebrates the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal on day three. Photo / Photosport
The allrounder could probably be forgiven, then, for being caught for four as India began the day by wrapping up five New Zealand wickets for 57 runs, a necessary first step in pulling off a miracle.
It might be impudent to quibble with minor details after such a major result, but there was a point when the Black Caps would have felt their nerves rising, and Latham shared some responsibility for any angst.
Giving his predecessor the new ball was defensible – Southee did remove Rohit Sharma twice in the series. Watching Yashasvi Jaiswal successfully swing for the fences then allowing the veteran a second over, much less so. And opting for Will O’Rourke from the other end was bizarre.
A platform established, the tourists called on their one-man wrecking crew to tear it down. Santner remained at his end until the job was done, delivering 29 successive overs while appearing to nurse a side strain.
With the pressure almost entirely on his shoulders – the seamers banished and Patel ineffective – the left-armer barely flinched as Jaiswal rocketed India to 81-1 in 12 overs before lunch.
By that point Santner had already nabbed Rohit, while the Black Caps had burned two reviews on half-chances to Jaiswal, such was their desperation to dismiss the opener who smashed his way past Brendon McCullum for most sixes in a calendar year.
The ball rapidly aging, Santner began the series-clinching middle session by trapping Shubman Gill, before drawing Jaiswal (77 off 65) forward and finding his edge for the key wicket.
For his next trick, Santner swooped to run out the destructive Rishabh Pant for a duck, capitalising on slight confusion between the non-striker and Virat Kohli with a lightning throw from behind square.
Kohli could soon console his erstwhile partner, removed by Santner for the second time in the match, before the offspinner bowled out Sarfaraz Khan to essentially quash Indian hope.
At that stage, Santner had dismissed 11 consecutive batters across the two innings, and Hadlee’s record was in play. For the first time this test, he fell short. But Pune 2024 now deserves to be remembered with similar reverence as Brisbane 1985.
