New Zealand win first Test in India since 1988

BANGALORE, India (AP) — New Zealand withstood a nervy chase and a superb spell from Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah to win their first Test on Indian soil since 1988.

New Zealand made it 110-2 on Sunday’s rain-affected final day, beating India by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Will Young and Rachin Ravindra shared a 75-run partnership for the third wicket to claim a famous win after rain returned to the session early in the morning. It was the first time since 2000 that a visiting team had chased over 100 in the fourth innings to win in India.

Young finished unbeaten on 48 runs off 76 balls, hitting six fours and a six, while Ravindra scored 39 not out off 46 balls, hitting six fours.

Bumrah finished with 2-29 after a stunning spell that removed both Black Caps openers and also beat the outside edge of the batters time and again, but could not find the luck India desperately needed to make inroads into the Kiwis’ batting order.

After the first day was washed away, India were eliminated from the game. lowest test score at home in first innings – 46 runs on the second day. He recovered with 462 runs in the second innings, but New Zealand’s first innings effort of 402 runs – with 134 runs from Ravindra – allowed the tourists to dominate throughout.

Ravindra was named man of the match. “It was a good wicket so the odds were in my favour. Preparation helps – as long as I have clarity on what needs to be done, that’s great. I didn’t try to attack them (the bowlers) but I took care of my positions, which is important in this part of the world. Fortunately, everything worked out,” he said.

Earlier on Sunday, play started an hour late due to morning rain in Bengaluru.

Bumrah caught captain Tom Latham lbw for a duck with his second ball of the morning. Latham tried the case, but the TV judge’s decision went against him.

It was a difficult debut for the batters with Devon Conway never looking comfortable against Bumrah. He was lbw for 17 runs in the 13th over as New Zealand were reduced to 35–2.

But Young and Ravindra calmed the nerves in the tourists’ dressing room with their attacking intent and fine strokeplay.

Once Bumrah’s spell ended, they settled down and attacked the Indian spinners. Kuldeep Yadav scored 8.7 runs per over in his short spell and Ravindra Jadeja didn’t fare much better.

The pair made 50 off 51 balls to take New Zealand to the target 10 minutes before lunch in the extended morning session as Young struck a four off Jadeja.

This sealed New Zealand’s third victory on Indian soil in 37 Tests.

“It was a good effort with the bat in the second innings. We didn’t hit very well in the first match, so we knew what was ahead of us. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we didn’t expect to concede less than 50 runs. New Zealand played well and challenged every corner of our bat and we couldn’t respond to that,” Indian captain Rohit Sharma said after the defeat.

The second match of the three-Test series will be played in Pune starting Thursday, while the final match will be played in Mumbai on November 1.

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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket