From an eight-wicket victory in Bengaluru, and in conditions that were specifically prepared to expose New Zealand’s supposed weakness, the Black Caps excelled in Pune and earned a maiden away series win over their hosts as a result.
It’s not an overstatement to say the result is the most significant series win in New Zealand’s cricket history.
India were unbeaten at home since 2012, and had won their last 18 home test series in succession, with all major sides, barring Pakistan, unable to achieve what the Black Caps had done.
What’s more, New Zealand had travelled to India in a state of flux.
A 2-0 away series loss in Sri Lanka had left the Black Caps’ hopes of reaching the next World Test Championship final in tatters, as Tim Southee stood down as test captain and was replaced by Tom Latham.
But now, as fulltime captain, Latham’s record reads a perfect two from two, in a country where some of the game’s great captains – Ricky Ponting, Graeme Smith, Michael Vaughan and even compatriot Stephen Fleming – failed.
And even with Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s own modern great, unavailable with a groin injury, the Black Caps made history.
“I’m sort of lost for words, a little bit,” said Latham. “It’s obviously an immensely proud moment for this group, coming off the back of a Sri Lanka series where we didn’t get the results we wanted.
“To come here and play the style of cricket we’ve played, we’re obviously immensely proud to be in the position of winning two test matches here.
“To be the first [New Zealand] team to win a series over here is immensely special. I’m very proud of this group.”
No team’s success is ever built on one player, especially in cricket. However, if there is one player to be singled out from Pune, it’s Mitchell Santner.
A glute injury to Matt Henry saw Santner come into the side, having had his selection called into question by more than one former player.
But in less than three days, Santner made his critics eat their words. With a bowling average of over 40 at the start of the test, Santner took 7/53 and 6/104 to earn New Zealand’s 113-run victory.
New Zealand celebrate Mitchell Santner's dismissal of Virat Kohli. Photo / Photosport
Of the 67 test wickets Santner has taken, 19% of them came in this one Pune test.
What’s more, his efforts in the second innings came amid a clear struggle with a side strain as he bowled 29 of the 60.2 overs of India’s final innings.
“He did a fantastic job ,” Latham continued. “The wickets he got, but I think it will go unnoticed the overs he bowled back-to-back.
“Will [O’Rourke] bowled one over with the new ball from that end, and Mitch bowled the rest.
“For someone like that, to bowl that amount of overs, to keep being a threat for that amount of time? I tried to take him off, but he kept taking a wicket, so I said ‘you can keep going’.
“I can’t praise him enough for what he’s done this game. He was simply fantastic.”
A 2-0 Black Caps home series loss to Australia, and failure at the men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA had seen fears New Zealand’s golden era was over.
Of the side that won the inaugural World Test Championship three years ago, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling, Colin de Grandhomme and Neil Wagner have all retired.
Meanwhile, Kane Williamson, Trent Boult and Devon Conway have all opted out of New Zealand Cricket central contracts to pursue franchise opportunities around the world.
Henry Nicholls has been dropped and is currently trying to earn his way back into the test side, while Kyle Jamieson has suffered injury after injury in the years since.
That leaves just Latham and Tim Southee as regulars in the side that defeated India.
“In cricket teams, you have times where your group is together [for] a long time,” Latham explained.
“We’ve obviously had guys retire and move on, [but] we’ve seen a new wave of guys come through.
“For them to come in and perform straight away has been the most pleasing thing. You’ve got a mix of older guys, and some youth – which is awesome.
“The likes of Will O’Rourke, Rachin, those guys are going to play a lot of cricket for New Zealand. It’s obviously really special for them to come here and be in this position.”
Up 2-0, the Black Caps can’t rest on their laurels with one game to play.
With four tests to play – one against India and three at home against England to come next month – New Zealand are fourth on the World Test Championship standings, and realistically must win every remaining match if they’re any chance of reaching next year’s final.
That will have to start in Mumbai on November 1. Last time out, the Black Caps made history, of sorts, as Ajaz Patel became the third bowler in the history of the game to take all 10 wickets in an innings, only to lose by 372 runs.
And with that experience banked, Latham knows what will await his side at Wankhede Stadium.
“They’ll be at their best next game, and that’s how we expect them to be every game,” the captain said.
“At a ground that they’re really familiar with, Mumbai, where they know how to play, conditions are slightly different with the red soil.
“So it’s important we do celebrate, and then our focus will switch to Mumbai in a few days’ time.”
Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
