On a rainy day in Bengaluru, October 16th marked the start of the Test series between the wounded Kiwis and the overconfident Men in Blue. The first day was called off due to bad weather, leaving cricket experts to speculate that God had saved New Zealand. The Kiwis arrived after suffering a 2-0 defeat against the Sri Lankan lions. Meanwhile, the home team, unbeaten in the last 12 years on home soil, felt mighty. They had dispatched every challenger who attempted to breach their fortress of turning tracks. Conquering great teams like Australia and the aggressive “Bazball” of England. They had won 18 series in a row. New Zealand beats India in Test. That’s it, that’s the statement. Kiwis are the first who conquered the fortress of turning tracks.

New Zealand Beats India in First Test

When the sun finally emerged on the second day, the overconfident Indians won the toss and chose to bat first in overcast conditions. However, Matt Henry, with the new ball, proved to be a nightmare for India, echoing his performance from the 2019 Cricket World Cup semi-finals. The Indian batting lineup crumbled under the pressure, and they registered their all-time low score at home: all out for just 46. This was also the lowest score for any team in Asia.

New Zealand capitalized on this misstep, scoring a mammoth 402 and taking a lead of 356 runs. Rachin Ravindra shone with a brilliant century, while veteran Tim Southee added a quick fifty. India found themselves on the back foot. Yet, the wounded Indians were known to be dangerous. As expected, they fought back, with Rishabh Pant and Sarfraz Khan at the crease. Despite their efforts, the Kiwi bowlers restricted India to 462, giving Rohit Sharma’s team a lead of only 106.

In just three days, New Zealand hammered India, winning by eight wickets and taking a 1-0 lead in the series. After the match, some experts called it a fluke, while others pointed to a bad toss or the rain that helped the Kiwis. But New Zealand arrived in India with a different mindset.

New Zealand Beats India & won the Test series

As the caravan moved to Pune, India faced the pressure of defending their reputation as the strongest Test side. Historically, they had lost the first Test of a series before but always bounced back to win. The body language in the Indian dressing room suggested that it was merely a bad session that cost them the game, and they were determined to play sensibly moving forward.

On the morning of the Pune Test, fortune favored the brave as New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first. This decision meant India would bat in the fourth innings on a rank turner, making it crucial for them to build a significant lead. New Zealand remained unchanged, while India made three changes: Shubman Gill replaced KL Rahul, Washington Sundar returned after three years in place of Kuldeep Yadav, and Akashdeep took Siraj’s spot.

New Zealand started slowly but gained momentum in the first two sessions, with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra both scoring half-centuries. At one point, after losing three wickets for 197 runs, it seemed they would post another big total. Then Washington Sundar came into play, bowling like a cyclone and restricting the visitors to 259. The faces in the Indian camp brightened; this was the hallmark of Indian cricket. However, the Kiwis spoiled the party. By the end of day one, Tim Southee rattled the off stump of Indian captain Rohit Sharma, who again became a victim of Tim. India was bowled out for just 156, trailing by 103 runs.

The Fortress has breached

Cricket expert Simon Doull commented, “There’s a misconception that modern Indian players are better at playing spin than others. They are not. Good quality spinners can dismiss India just as easily as Indian spinners can dismiss quality batters. When they see a turning track in the IPL, they often complain.”

There was a time when India finished games in just three days at home, and now they faced defeat at the hands of a visiting side. Twenty days prior, they had thrashed Bangladesh in a rain-affected match in just 2.5 days. Finally, the Kiwis broke the jinx of the rank turner, defeating India by 113 runs, reminiscent of how Cook, Petersen, Panesar and Swann triumphed in 2012.

Why did India lose? What cost them the series? Do these IPL pokies really understand how to handle spin? Are they genuinely interested in representing the country in longer formats, or is it just about fame? The five legends who built this fortress—Virat Kohli, R. Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ajinkya Rahane—were once the backbone of Indian cricket. Pujara and Rahane were dropped from the Test side, with the reasoning that they didn’t make Test cricket tempting. But one must ask the mighty Aussies what these two old-school stalwarts are capable of.

The remaining three Kohli, Ashwin, and Jadeja are still in the squad, yet they failed to perform in this series, leading to India’s loss of a Test series at home after 12 years.