The Indian team led by Rohit Sharma had to face defeat by 113 runs in the Pune Test match against New Zealand. In the match, Team India had a target of 359 runs to win, chasing which they could only score 245 runs. With this defeat, the Indian team lost the three-match test series against New Zealand. The third and final match of the Test series between the two teams will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from November 1.
Khabbu’s spinner becomes a problem for the Indian team
New Zealand won the Test series on Indian soil for the first time, so this victory was quite historic for them. Mitchell Santner was the main architect of New Zealand’s victory in the Pune test match. Left-arm spinner Santner took seven wickets in the first innings and six wickets in the second innings. In total, Santner took 13 wickets for 157 runs in the match. India’s best batsmen failed against Santner. Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan and Ravichandran Ashwin were dismissed by Santner in both the innings.
It’s not the playing field, it’s Mitch 🤷🏻♂️#INDvNZ #IDFCFirstBankTestTrophy #TeamIndia #santner #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/3KUKUszQfM
-JioCinema (@JioCinema) October 26, 2024
What is surprising is that in the 28 Test matches that Mitchell Santner had played before, he failed to take five wickets in an innings on a single occasion. But on the Pune track, this Khabbu spinner caused sleepless nights for the Indian team. This is not the first time that a left-arm spinner has defeated the Indian team in a Test match in Pune.
In February 2017, when India played Australia on this ground, Steve O’Keefe wreaked havoc on the host team. Left-arm spinner Steve took 6 wickets in the first innings and also 6 wickets in the second innings. He took 12 wickets giving a total of 70 runs in the match. On the basis of that brilliant performance by Steve, the Australian team managed to win that match by 333 runs. That match also ended on the third day. The Indian team then scored 105 runs in the first innings and 107 runs in the second innings.
India has only been able to win one Test match in Pune.
We tell you that the Indian team has so far played 3 test matches at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune, in which it has only won 1. The only test victory of the Indian team on this ground It was against South Africa in October 2019. The Indian team had won that match by an innings and 137 runs. In that match, Virat Kohli was the ‘Man of the Match’, who played an unbeaten innings of 254 runs as captain. However, this time Kohli failed on this ground and could only score 18 runs in total.
Let us tell you that in the Pune test match, New Zealand scored 259 runs in their first innings. In response, the Indian team could only score 156 runs in their first innings. New Zealand then scored 255 runs in their second innings and set a target of 359 runs for India. If seen, the Indian team lost the test series at home after 12 years. Previously, the Indian team had to face a 1-2 defeat in the four-match Test series against England in December 2012. After that, India lost a Test series at home for the first time.
India’s biggest defeat in a calendar year (home test)
Four in 1969 (3 against Australia, 1 against New Zealand)
Three in 1983 (all three against the West Indies)
Three in 2024 (2 against New Zealand, 1 against England)
Guest teams win test series in India
England (five times, the last in 2012-13)
West Indies (five times, last in 1983-1984)
Australia (four times, the last in 2004-2005)
Pakistan (1986–87)
South Africa (1999–00)
New Zealand (2024)
