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India's sensational 36-year streak ends with a massive defeat against New Zealand

India's sensational 36-year streak ends with a massive defeat against New Zealand




New Zealand survived a hostile spell against Jasprit Bumrah to thwart India's attempt to turn a riveting final-day opener by defeating the cricket giants by eight wickets at home and ending a 36-year wait for Test success in the country. here Sunday This is the Kiwis' first Test win on Indian soil after the John Wright-led team defeated India by 136 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in 1988. He even scored a modest 107 on the fifth day against a world-ranked Grade 1 attack that could be nerve-wracking, and New Zealand did so after initial fears. Will Young (48 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (39 not out) fueled their fightback with a 75-run stand for the third wicket to give their side a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

However, despite the loss, the Indians will not be completely disheartened as they showed admirable courage to recover from the depths of being bowled out for 46 in the first innings.

They need to build on this and do so fairly quickly as the second Test in Pune begins on October 24.

The Rohit Sharma-led side will also have to think carefully about retaining Sarfaraz Khan, who scored 150 in the second over, as Shubman Gill is close to returning after recovering from a stiff neck.

The other point they will debate for a long time is whether to revert to the three-step strategy or continue with the three-spinner strategy, a move that backfired spectacularly here in Pune.

New Zealand's victory was not without drama as the day's game started at 10.15am and the wet outfield delayed play for an hour.

Bumrah (29/2), operating from the dressing room, found considerable movement and Tom Latham fell in the first round of the day for his night's zero.

Latham was behind the ball to cover the in-dipper, but he continued to swing back and hit his pads as umpire Michael Gough raised his finger after loud appeals from the bowler and the crowd.

The New Zealand captain viewed the decision with hope rather than conviction and the DRS also confirmed his worst fears and he had to go back.

India may have felt the absence of a third pacer as both Bumrah and Siraj found movement in largely cloudy skies, troubling the Kiwi batters.

Kuldeep Yadav, who gave up 26 runs in three overs, had replaced Akash Deep in the XI for this Test after India launched a three-pronged pace attack against Bangladesh recently.

Devon Conway, the other overnight batsman, was shaky throughout his stay and would consider himself lucky to have found a last-minute edge to a bumrah skidder that would otherwise have trapped him right in front of him.

But as luck would have it, the ball hit the gully fielder and raced toward the fence.

However, the left-hander finally reached the end of the road when Bumrah, operating around the stumps, caught him with another shot just in front of the wicket that skidded and smashed back into him.

The on-field umpire did not relent but the DRS upheld India's appeal to send Conway (17) back.

New Zealand were 35-2 at this point and one would say the game was even as a few more goals could have put the Cat over the edge.

But Young and Ravindra, the first innings centurion, found some firmness to withstand the Indian attack.

Once the sun came out for a while, the ball movement was much more predictable and the Kiwi batters took advantage of favorable conditions to put up a few boundaries to ease the pressure.

Ravindra Jadeja, who started with a no-ball, also didn't make much of an impression and conceded 14 runs in his first two overs.

There wasn't much use for him on the Chinnaswamy pitch either as the 22-yard track didn't fall apart on the final day thanks to rain and cooler climate.

With the margin decreasing with each run, the New Zealand batters became bolder and produced their shots off the shelf, such as a clean lift over mid-wicket for a six-off spinner from left-arm Kuldeep.

The crucial moment came when Will Young turned Jadeja for two to collect the winning runs as the Kiwis' dressing room turned into a hub of celebration.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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