The Black Caps withstood the onslaught and eventually won by eight wickets with two sessions to spare

On the penultimate day of an intriguing maiden Test, India’s quicks seemed to have the advantage over New Zealand due to a dense cloud cover and the constant danger of rain.

Rohit Sharma and his team were not unaffected by it. That much was implied by the manner the captain had contested the umpire’s choice to give the light to New Zealand’s openers just before torrential rain fell at the last day’s finish.

However, the Indian team’s batting collapse in the first innings came back to bother them, even though Jasprit Bumrah in particular struck the ball with incredible force and posed the tough questions.

New Zealand win the First Test by 8 wickets in Bengaluru.#TeamIndia will look to bounce back in the Second Test.

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/8qhNBrs1td#INDvNZ | @idfcfirstbank pic.twitter.com/6Xg4gYo8It

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 20, 2024

After fending off that attack, the Black Caps won by eight wickets with two periods remaining.

Latham and his team put an end to a 36-year quest for victory on Indian territory. Their last Test victory came in 1988 in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, when they defeated Dilip Vengsarkar’s squad by 136 runs under the captaincy of John Wright.

After Australia and England, New Zealand became the third Test cricket side to defeat India at home in more than ten years. Additionally, it was their first victory in four Tests at the location.

Although the start of play was delayed by an hour due to morning rain, New Zealand felt that the objective of 107 was too low.

When play did start, Bumrah’s length ball snuck back and caught the captain in front, losing Latham for the visitors. With that early wicket, India’s hopes skyrocketed. Once again, Bumrah took out a struggling Devon Conway (17) by trapping his leg before. At that moment, New Zealand was still 72 runs behind.

Though Bumrah posed a threat, Siraj and the spinners also had some difficulty when the quicks concluded their initial stints.

Rachin Ravindra (39 n.o.), the man of the match and first innings centurion, calmed the jitters in the New Zealand dressing room with Will Young (48 n.o.) by eluding Bumrah with a boundary through gully and then supporting it with another flip past midwicket. At that point, India’s prospects started to fade.

Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, the spinners, did little except accelerate the visitor’s triumphant march. The Kiwis did not want to take any chances, especially with the ominous skies hanging above them. Young and Ravindra took aim at the slower bowlers, with the former slamming Kuldeep for a six over mid-wicket to demonstrate their combined might.

Oddly, R Ashwin, the go-to spinner, was called on when New Zealand needed to win by 10 runs. Ashwin could only postpone what was certain.

Even if Rohit subsequently acknowledged that there were many benefits, the loss is nonetheless sure to sting. It bodes well for India that they recovered from being knocked out for 46 to score 462 with two tough players leading the way: Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant. The rain-affected match was moved to the fifth day, which benefited the hosts.

India will examine the two collapses in retrospect: the chaos in the first innings and the seven wickets for 54 runs lost in the second essay.

India’s lead in the World Test Championship standings (98 points; 68.06 PCT) has not changed despite the defeat. New Zealand moved up to fourth place (48 points, 44.44) as a result. The Kiwis need to make up some ground since there are still five Tests left in the current cycle.

SHAMI AND GILL CRACK THE NETS

Shubham Gill, who missed the Test because of a stiff neck, began training on the center pitch less than an hour after the play, indicating that India wants to move on from the defeat. A heavily strapped Mohammed Shami, who had been out with a knee injury, also made an appearance in the nets.

ADDED TO THE INDIA SQUAD WASHER

Washington Sundar, an all-rounder from Tamil Nadu, was recruited to the Indian team on Sunday in preparation for the last two Test matches against New Zealand.

Following his 152 for Tamil Nadu in the current Ranji Trophy encounter against Delhi, the 25-year-old has been included. At the Gabba, Washington was instrumental in India’s historic victory over Australia.

SQUAD: R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, Virat Kohli, and Sarfaraz Khan