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New Zealand overcame Rishabh Pant's impressive performance to achieve a complete victory over India in a series of at least three Test matches played in India. Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips worked together to take nine wickets, successfully defending a modest total of 146 runs despite Pant's 64-run knock that took India from a precarious 29/5 to 106/6. Ajaz Patel's exceptional 11-wicket haul made him the most successful visiting bowler at a single Indian venue. Apart from India's poor batting display, a controversial decision by the third umpire, Paul Reiffel, also impacted the match. Pant had regained momentum for India, scoring six singles and two boundaries in the first two overs after lunch, but New Zealand managed to get the decision overturned through a seemingly desperate review. The third umpire initially appeared to rule that the sound on UltraEdge came from the bat hitting the pad, but later concluded that there was a possible deviation, leading to the on-field decision being reversed. Nonetheless, Ajaz Patel's remarkable performance should not be overshadowed.
In his previous series, Ajaz had an ordinary performance, but he found his rhythm in the final Test. Although he took five wickets in the first innings and three early wickets in the second innings, he struggled against Pant. Pant played an audacious innings, defying the challenging pitch conditions as requested by the team management. The problem with batting on such tracks is the wide range of errors bowlers can make, as the ball's pace varies, allowing batters to find gaps in the field. Pant's brilliance lay in his ability to manipulate his shots and beat the deep fielders, swiveling almost onto the stumps to hit the ball square and collapsing onto his knee to sweep the ball finer, often sweeping himself off his feet to generate extra power.
Raw emotions on display post a historic series win #INDvNZ | #WTC25 pic.twitter.com/QGpuRM35pe
— ICC (@ICC) November 3, 2024
The meal time achieved an impressive 84% level of management. When Pant was not batting, Ajaz was unplayable. Since lunch on day two, he bowled with perfect length and continued it in the second innings. He delivered the ball at a good length, making the batters play forward-defense without reaching the pitch of the ball. Shubman Gill left one alone without covering the off-stump, leaving himself vulnerable to the pitch's unpredictability. The ball did not turn and knocked off the off-stump. Virat Kohli was an easy target as he defended and edged the ball to the slip fielder Daryl Mitchell. Ravindra Jadeja, who earlier completed his third career 10-wicket match haul and added 42 runs with Pant, finally got one that turned too much and was caught at bat-pad. Only Sarfaraz Khan's wicket was a gift due to the mental obstacles. His two-ball innings consisted of two premeditated sweeps to what were otherwise boundary balls, one resulting in a single and the other a full toss straight to the deep midwicket fielder. The openers were dismissed by Matt Henry and Phillips.
The team's final wicket added three runs to their overnight lead of 143. They scored two boundaries, but the third attempt was to a ball that wasn't short enough, and the fielder caught the top-edged pull. The second spinner, who has exceeded expectations, continued his good performance by not bowling any bad deliveries and was rewarded by dismissing a batsman lbw. Pant, however, was playing a different game, starting with a boundary, then running, and then defending. He opened his account with a powerful six over the bowler's head, forcing the bowler to bowl quicker and shorter, which led to India scoring two bye boundaries. His reverse-sweeping was effective, and he even benefited from a top-edged sweep. After losing another batsman, Pant scored two boundaries in the last two overs before lunch, giving India hope of a miracle. After the break, New Zealand adopted a more defensive approach, but a desperate review later turned the tide in their favor.
Phillips made an excellent catch off R Ashwin's reverse-sweep, which was a moment to celebrate all the hard work. Phillips then bowled Akash Deep through the wickets. Ajaz fittingly concluded the match as Washington Sundar attempted to hit him with few options remaining.
