BENGALURU (Agencies): After his team won their first Test match in India in 36 years—and only their third overall—Captain Tom Latham of New Zealand called it a “glorious occasion.”
Latham was removed for a duck by Jasprit Bumrah, so he had to watch from the dressing room as the visitors needed to chase 107 to win.
On the last day of the Test match in Bengaluru, however, Will Young and Rachin Ravindra calmed everyone down by leading New Zealand from a dangerous 35-2 down to an eight-wicket victory.
In the best-of-three series, New Zealand now leads 1-0 as a result.
The two previous Test triumphs for New Zealand in India were in Nagpur in 1969 and Mumbai in 1988.
On the opening day, Latham’s team set up the win by dismissing India for 46, their lowest Test total at home.
“Obviously it is a wonderful experience, since over that long period of time, a lot of teams have come here,” Latham remarked.
“We set up the game for ourselves with the work we did with the ball and with the bat in those first and second innings.”
After taking Tim Southee’s position earlier this month, the 32-year-old had a decisive first victory in his new role as full-time captain.
The way India rallied in the second innings to try and become the first team to win a Test match despite giving up a lead of more than 350 was encouraging to captain Rohit Sharma’s team.
“We did not anticipate being 46 all out, but we have to give New Zealand credit—it set us back, and these kinds of games are inevitable,” he remarked.
On a final-day field that had to be covered overnight due to rain, Sarfaraz Khan’s 150 and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant’s 99 helped India to 462 in their second innings, leaving the home bowlers with a modest target to defend.
And with the second ball of the day, Bumrah put Latham out of the game, giving India a ray of hope.
After a successful review, he then trapped Devon Conway leg before wicket, but it was India’s only breakthrough.
The tournament’s player of the match, first-inning centurion Ravindra, smashed six fours in his undefeated 39, while Young, who finished with 48, hit the winning run with his seventh four.
“We need to carry forward the positive developments,” Rohit continued. The second Test is slated to start on Thursday in Pune.
“These things happen; we have experienced surrendering home losses before. We will give it our all in the upcoming two tests because we know what it takes.
With 18 victories in a row in home Test series dating back to 2012, India has history on their side.
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