Santner heroics seal New Zealand’s first Test series win in India

PUNE: New Zealand made history with their first Test series triumph in India as spinner Mitchell Santner’s heroic performance delivered a 113-run win in the second match on Saturday.

New Zealand bowled out India for 245 in their chase of 359 on day three in Pune to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

It marks India’s first Test series defeat at home since December 2012, when Alastair Cook’s England beat them 2-1.

Santner, whose 7-53 in India’s first innings of 156 set up the famous win, rattled the Indian chase with six wickets on a turning pitch and trumped the hosts at their own spin game.

“Every time you take wickets, you get a little more confident,” Santner said. “I felt that today… Every time I got a wicket, it got a little better.”

New Zealand end 36-year wait by crushing India in first Test

The left-hander bowled unchanged from one end, returning figures of 6-104 in 29 overs.

Ajaz Patel took the final two wickets and ended Ravindra Jadeja’s resistance on 42 when the batsmen holed out in the deep and New Zealand celebrated to pin drop silence from the stands.

Before Saturday, a visiting New Zealand team had never won a Test series in India dating back to their first trip in 1955.

“I don’t think we batted well enough to get runs on the board,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said.

“It is a collective failure. The team has failed to accept the challenge thrown at us.”

India bowled out New Zealand for 255 inside the first hour of play and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in his 65-ball 77 came out attacking to raise hopes of a miracle.

India lost Rohit for eight but raced to 81-1 at lunch in 12 overs.

Santner took down Shubman Gill for 23 soon after the break to end a 62-run second-wicket stand with the left-handed Jaiswal, who powered on after reaching his fifty.

The in-form spinner finally had Jaiswal caught at slip, run out Rishabh Pant for a duck and trapped Virat Kohli lbw, dousing India’s chances.

Glenn Phillips chipped in with the wicket of Washington Sundar for 21.

India spinners Sundar and Jadeja shared seven wickets between them in the second New Zealand innings, with Jadeja claiming three of the five to fall on Saturday morning.

Sundar, a lanky off-spinner, returned to the Indian Test team after more than three years and took 7-59.

New Zealand made 259 in their first innings riding on knocks from Devon Conway (76) and Rachin Ravindra (65) before Santner took charge.

With the series defeat, India’s record of 18 consecutive bilateral home series wins have come to an end – the longest such run for any team.

New Zealand have now won four Tests in India after their opening triumph, which marked their first on Indian soil since 1988.

The series victory comes after New Zealand’s recent 2-0 loss in Sri Lanka on a sub-continent tour that began with a washed-out Test against Afghanistan near New Delhi.

Tim Southee stepped down after the Sri Lanka defeat and Tom Latham took over as Test captain.