By asserting their dominance right from the outset, India inflicted a 3-0 whitewash on New Zealand and regained the number one Test ranking as well. Virat Kohli’s troops started the proceedings by turning their landmark 500th Test into a memorable one after which they sealed the series by outplaying the Kiwis in all departments in the succeeding matches too.
The hosts rode on Ravichandran Ashwin, who continued to spin webs around visiting batsmen, and Cheteshwar Pujara’s composed batting during tantalisingly poised situations. However, there were quite a few displays from unexpected quarters that helped both sides in their quests.
Let us revisit some of those performances that were not anticipated to a certain extent when the series began.
#5 Matt Henry‘s introduction to Indian conditions
For a seam bowler growing up on conducive pitches outside the subcontinent, going through an Indian tour is never an easy task. However, Matt Henry impressed during his maiden Test outing in India with a solid showing at the iconic Eden Gardens. Though he was greeted by a surprisingly green-tinged surface, the high humidity did not help matters at all.
In particular, the delivery to dismiss Murali Vijay in the first innings demonstrated the perfect use of the new ball. With the Kiwis conceding a significant lead, Henry produced a fine spell to raise their hopes briefly before India’s lower-order took control of the match.
#4 Rohit Sharma’s sequence of half-centuries
Coming into the series under discernible pressure regarding his utility to India‘s Test set-up, Rohit registered at least one fifty-plus score in all three matches of the series. The elegant right-hander ensured that the declarations came at the right time by hastening the scoring-rate when his side required the surge.
However, his 82 in the second innings at Eden Gardens proved to be a game-changing knock as he resurrected the Indian innings which had slumped to 106/6 at one stage. Alongside the pugnacious Wriddhiman Saha, Rohit thwarted a purposeful New Zealand bowling unit by clinging on to the loose deliveries without any fuss to take the match out of their reach.
#3 Mitchell Santner‘s all-round potential
Even though the pitches allied with the spinners, Mitchell Santner came into the series as a rookie without any prior experience of playing in Asia. The left-armer prised out three wickets in the first innings of the opening Test with his stifling lengths to make an instant impact. In the batting department, his fighting 71 in the fourth-innings at Kanpur was among the few positives for the Kiwis.
Since Daniel Vettori’s stellar career came to a grinding halt, they required a gritty customer in the lower order who could come to their rescue during crises aside from delivering one accurate spell after another. With Santner’s emergence, New Zealand have a viable option for slipping into the bespectacled all rounder’s shoes.
#2 Bhuvneshwar Kumar swings it India’s way
The major reason behind India’s formidable record on home soil has been their enviable supply of high quality spinners. Often faced with pitches wherein there might not be much work for the seamers apart from sending down a few overs early on and returning for another brief spell to make use of reverse swing, Bhuvneshwar Kumar found himself in the playing eleven on a surface which had a noticeable grass cover.
Responding to his skipper’s call, the swing proponent tore through the New Zealand batting lineup by picking up his fourth five-wicket haul in Tests. Even though the batsmen were hard done by having to deal with the vagaries of playing into the evening, Bhuvneshwar’s control and ability to shape the ball was commendable.
#1 Martin Guptill bounces back at Indore
Amidst question marks surrounding his inability to translate white-ball form into the game’s traditional format, Guptill was persisted with by the New Zealand think tank despite his counterproductive effort in the warm-up match. The first couple of Tests added fuel to the fire as he could only manage 58 runs across the four innings.
With a lack of adequate back-up tilting the scales in his favour, the 30-year old finally shunned his indifferent form by putting on 118 for the first wicket with Tom Latham in the third Test at Indore. Just when he was looking to make a significant impact, a freakish run out sent him back for 72.
Guptill followed it up by playing more deliveries than any of his teammates, other than BJ Watling, even as New Zealand capsized alarmingly in the second innings.
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