India v New Zealand, 1st Test : 5 Talking Points

India kicked off their home season with a massive 197 runs victory at the Green Park Stadium and take 1-0 in the three-match series. New Zealand succumbed to the spin of Ravichandran Ashwin on day five who snapped up his 19 five-wicket haul of his career to star in the win.

The Ronchi- Santner resilience continued today in the morning session. The duo looked at ease and slightly frustrated the Indian bowlers before Jadeja broke the stand with the wicket of Ronchi and brought India back into the game.

Santner continued fighting a lone battle but could not sustain for long as Ashwin made the Kiwis depart one by one to eventually seal a sweet victory for India.

1.Eleventh consecutive win for Team India at home:

Virat Kohli continued his wonderful run as the Test skipper and stretched his winning streak to 11 matches emulating his predecessor MS Dhoni.

Ever since becoming the Skipper of the side in the 4 Test during the tour Australia, Kohli has led his team with great success. Some of his memorable test wins include the Freedom trophy at Home, Win in Sri Lanka in their own backyard and most recently defeating West Indies in West Indies.

The former skippers who lead Kohli are Mohammad Azharuddin (14), Kapil Dev (14) and Sunil Gavaskar (18). He still has a long way to go but with a long 13 Test home season scheduled, there are high chances that he may top the charts.

2. Ronchi-Santner defies Indian spinners: 

Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner’s almighty struggle to delay India‘s victory was successful to a great extent in the morning session. The pair added a match-defining 102 runs stand for the 5th wicket.

The duo batted very grittily and denied Ashwin and Jadeja any easy success making them work hard. Ronchi led the charge and made a cautious 80 run knock before losing his wicket to Jadeja. His fall opened the gates for India.

But, Santner was in no mood to give away the that easily as he went to make an impressive 71 to become the only player since John Bracewell in 1988 to score 50 or more runs and took 5 or more wickets in a Test in India. However, with Ashwin snapping wicket at regular wickets, it was only a matter time that the Black Caps innings folded

3. All round Jadeja:

Ravichandran Ashwin may have dominated the play on day five, But, it was Ravindra Jadeja who bagged the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his all-round show.

It is needless to say that Jadeja was impressive all throughout the match. Ind the first innings, he contributed 42 runs with the bat and picked 5/73. He continued doing a great job in the second innings as well. Coming to bat at No.7, Jaddu hit an unbeaten 50 run knock.

His quickfire knock with Rohit Sharma enabled India set a huge target in short time. Bowling wise, the 2nd innings was less productive in terms of wickets (he took 1/58) but he maintained the pressure on the opposition to make things easier for his partner Ashwin.

4. Ravichandran Ashwin mega show: 

Ravichandran Ashwin began his 13 tests home run with a 10 wicket haul. he was at usual dominant best in the game taking 4/93 in the first innings and 6/132 in the second innings to play the lead role in India’s win in the 500th Test.

This test will be a memorable one for him. He completed his 200 Test milestone and did so in just 37 tests. The only bowler to have completed this feat in a lesser number of matches was Australia’s leg spinner Claire Grimmett who took 36 Tests. The five-wicket haul in the final innings was also his 19th five wicket haul.

5. Expect fightback from the Kiwis:

India may have won the match easily by a huge 196 runs margin. But, the match wasn’t a totally lop-sided contest. The Blacks Caps showed steady improvement as the game progressed. Their spin bowling attack enjoyed bowling in these conditions and for 318 in the first innings.

Mitchell Santner and Trent Boult snapped three wickets each while Ish Sodhi and Mark Craig got one wicket each. The bowlers were impressive in the second innings and would fared better had the Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja not played the aggressive cameo.

The only weakness the kiwis showed was the inability to cope with the Indian spin duo of Ashwin and Jadeja. But, sturdy knocks from Kane Williamson, Luke Ronchi and Santner will act as an example and should make the Kiwi batsmen play better in the upcoming match at Kolkata.