Just as expected, India pulled off a resounding and convincing win against New Zealand in the 2nd and final test and thereby have won the series as well. Crucially, India have also secured vital points towards the next WTC finals though by that time, there will definitely be a new batting order. Kohli will remember this game for quite sometime because it took awhile to come. There were quite a few memorable feats in this test. Let me try to analyse in India vs New Zealand second test review.

Enormous feat but with a pinch of salt

The one major feat that everyone talks about in this test was undoubtedly the 10-wicket haul of Ajaz Patel. Whichever way you look at it, it was an extraordinary performance. Granted, he bowled close to 50 overs and India played more than 100 overs on a pitch that wasn’t a rank turner but had sufficient help for the spinners. Yet, none of this must diminish the performance of Ajaz. Even if India had scored more than 500, 10 wickets in an innings is an incredible feat. Having said that, I do not think that just because Ajaz achieved this in the first innings, it is an even better achievement. I will not agree with that analysis because yes this was in the first innings but the test match wasn’t played on a New Zealand pitch or a pitch that had pace and bounce.

It was played at the Wankhede in India which is known to help the slow bowlers. The pitch at the Wankhede had lots of help for the spinners. It was certainly not unplayable but a spinner had all the help he could have asked for. This was the case even on day one. I will say that it was an extraordinary effort and achievement but the fact that it was during day 1 and 2 will not enhance the performance.

Best delivery of the game

There were a couple of deliveries that competes to be the delivery of the game and both of them got wickets. It is funny that a delivery when it does not fetch a wicket is not even in contention eventhough it was a beautiful delivery. Ajaz Patel to Ashwin and Siraj to Ross Taylor are the 2 deliveries that stood out in the entire test. Both of them were fabulous. Both of them moved in the same angle. From leg to off. Ajaz’s was a beautifully flighted delivery that pitched on middle and leg and turned just enough to beat the defense of Ashwin. Ashwin did not even realise that he was bowled and he asked for review. However, the delivery of the game must certainly belong to Siraj.

On a pitch that wasn’t conducive for the faster bowlers, Siraj’s spell on the 2nd afternoon was a treat to watch. It had everything pace, seam and bounce. Rossco who is usually a good player of fast bowling was completely beaten by the pace and angle of that delivery. Siraj got the ball to move just a little that defeated Taylor comprehensively and had his bail knocked off. It was every fast bowler’s dream delivery and Siraj perfected it.

Why Kohli did not declare

India bowled just 28 overs in New Zealand’s first innings and had a lead of over 250 and yet, Kohli did not ask New Zealand to bat again. 28 overs is not a lot of effort and the Indian bowlers could have bowled again but Kohli chose not to. There could be couple of reasons for Kohli not wanting to impose the follow-on. One is more of speculation and the other is real.

Let me first speculate

Kohli has been on the receiving end from New Zealand over the last 3 years. Under his watch, India lost the test series in New Zealand 0-2 and the ODI series preceding that 0-3. More famously, India’s march towards the final of the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2021 T20 World Cup was stopped by New Zealand. Not to forget the WTC finals in England. A test that was destined to be drawn, New Zealand came from nowhere to win that test and the championship comprehensively.

Hence, he had a score to settle. Kohli got that opportunity at Mumbai and he wanted to grind the New Zealand bowlers to the ground and he took that opportunity. There is nothing wrong in that. Test match wins are not that easy. They are hard won. Lot of efforts, planning and strategy goes into winning test matches. A captain had to be ruthless and Kohli is ruthless.

Now to the humane reason

Kohli and Pujara are struggling for runs. Everyone is aware of that. India will be touring South Africa shortly. It is a country where India have never won a test series. Now, South Africa is in real bother. They hardly have any batsman of international repute. Gone are the days when they were able to call upon, Smith, Amla, Kallis, de Villiers or even Gibbs. They are ripe for the taking and Kohli will surely want himself to be in top form. He may not get one more opportunity.

To ensure maximum amount of game time, he choose not to impose the follow on. It gave both Pujara and Kohli much needed time in the middle. Ofcourse, Indian conditions will not be a match for what will be found in South Africa but time spent in the middle is worth. If only either had scored a hundred, India will be in a much happier space just before South Africa.

Gains for India

There were lot of gains. First and foremost is that even without some major players, India is tough to beat at home. That is the biggest takeaway. This has thrown up lot of replacements for Pujara, Rahane and even Kohli. It is something every team will like to have. It will be hard to drop any of Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, Shubnam Gill and Mayank Agarwal in South Africa. If Pujara or Rahane still fails to perform, they will be replaced sooner rather than later. Siraj looks like shoe-in for the SA tests and Ishant Sharma will be one to miss out.

Gains for New Zealand

As for New Zealand, apart from Ajaz Patel’s perfect 10, not much to write about. The continued failure of Ross Taylor in Asian conditions and Williamson’s struggle on the slow and low wickets are major reasons to worry for New Zealand. If they have to be accepted by everyone as the best test team, they will have to start winning in India and for that, Williamson and Taylor will have to score heavily.

First test review

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The Indian cricket pitches

Whenever, a side from one of England, Australia, New Zealand comes to India, the one talking point is about the pitches. There will be lot of editorials on their newspapers stating that a minefield is awaiting their teams during their visit. Every pitch in any Test series will be doctored to suit the Indian spinners or to stump the visitors because of their lack of ability against spin. However, none of them thinks about the poor technique displayed by the visitors against spin. Not the perfect one but a better technique would have ensured that they prevail. Having said that, the Indian cricket pitches will probably have to change. Defeating India in India is one of the most toughest in the cricketing world. Defeating Australia and defeating South Africa are the other tough propositions. I have not included England or New Zealand because both the teams have lost rather a few games more than that is allowed. Over the last 23 years, India have lost less than 10 Tests at home with only 2 series losses. That is an incredible record to boast about. The sheer dominance at home is something no other team could achieve. Accusation against the team Despite that, the talk invariably turns to the pitches. There were lot of accusations on the Indian team that they will not be able to win so many games if the pitches weren’t so spin friendly. A few years ago, in 2015, against South Africa, both the teams, India and South Africa were unable to cross 300 once because the pitches turned square from ball one. The Nagpur pitch for the 3rd Test was rated poor. It left Kohli fuming. “Well, there have been three scores of under 50 runs in South Africa but I haven’t seen any sort of articles on that. Teams have been bundled out under 100 for about six times in South Africa,” he said. “The situation in our country is highlighted a bit too much and that’s a fact. Because the only thing we talk about is the pitch and when we were in South Africa, the only thing we talked about was how badly we played. We are criticised for our techniques but when visitors don’t play well, it’s always the wicket.” It is true what Kohli had said. There are lot of games in Australia and South Africa that have not exceeded 3 days. Especially, in South Africa, the pitches are overly favourable to the fast bowlers. Since South Africa can churn out them by the dozen, they have always prepared pitches that has incredible pace and bounce. They have always maximised the home advantage and particularly against the Asian nations. WTC Points system is another reason Likewise, India is also justified in preparing pitches that does not suit the opposing batsmen. Here I say the opponent’s batsmen is because even the Indians are not that good against spinners any longer. Just look at the number of games the Indians were tied down by spinners in white ball cricket that has prevented them from scoring huge runs or chase down one. The situation is not that better in Tests either. Nowadays, spinning pitches are prepared not because it is comfortable for India but because it is uncomfortable for the opponents. One other factor that warrants results oriented pitches is the WTC points system. It awards 12 points for a win and only 4 for a draw. It places great importance in playing attacking aggressive brand of cricket. WTC points is a significant motivator. Teams need wins to be in contention to play the final. Where does the chances for winning most of the games lie? It is at home where you know the conditions and you know how the pitches will behave. Hence, the need to prepare pitches where you give your team the maximum chance to win. “There is a huge premium on results,” Dravid said before the fourth Test. “You draw a game like Kanpur against New Zealand, where you take nine wickets in the second innings, you draw that game and that sets you back, in a home game. “Every team is getting results at home or are putting in really good performances at home, so there is a premium on results. You get four points for a draw and you get 12 for a win, so there is a premium on that, there’s no question about it.” It is time to return The downside of all this is that the averages and the performances of the batsmen have dropped drastically and the spinners are having inflated strike rates and averages. One will only have to compare the statistics of both Ashwin and Jadeja with their away record. It will clearly establish the fact that these two spinners, ofcourse they are good, are not as great as they are made out to be. Perhaps, the time has come to return to the more batting pitches that helped the Indian batsmen outscore their opponents. The spinners will have to really use their guile and intelligence to pick up wickets rather than just drop the ball and leave the rest to the pitches. There was a period, against England in 2017, where both the teams amassed runs and yet, India won handsomely 4-0. Ashwin & Jadeja still emerged as the highest wicket takers but they had to move out of their comfort zone. The Indian fast bowlers too had long bowling sessions. This was in stark contrast to how Bumrah asked to be left out of the squad in 2020 against England because he hardly had to bowl. Wrapping up the Indian cricket pitches The problem is not the turn but the dust that comes out of the pitch everytime there is an activity. Sri Lankan pitches have also turned but the soil does not come out. India have had similar pitches and it is time to return to that. 2 and 3 day games will kill the game. Let the batsmen be able to bat confidently. For inspiration, India will only have to think about the pitches against England in 2017.

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