Kolkata: In a dramatic collapse after tea during which they lost seven wickets for only 62 runs, New Zealand succumbed to their second successive defeat against India in the second Test at the Eden Gardens here Monday. The 178-run victory helped India clinch series victory as they achieved an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-game series and also saw them reclaim the No.1 Test ranking.
But then at tea when New Zealand stood at 135 for three chasing a winning target of 376, such a scenario unfolding did not seem on the anvil. It all happened as Ravi Ashwin (3/82), Ravindra Jadeja (3/41) and Mohammed Shami (3/46) got into the act together to decimate the Kiwis.
It all started with the dismissal of opener Tom Latham (74, 148b, 8×4). Having defended dourly for 208 minutes, the Kiwi got a beauty of a delivery from Ashwin. The ball beat him in flight as he stretched forward, bounced and turned to get the edge and Wriddhiman Saha did the rest behind the stumps. The beginning of the end had started.
Shami then got the reverse swing going and dismissed Mitchell Santner and BJ Watling in quick succession to further speed up India’s cause. And when Jadeja had Luke Ronchi (32) castled with one that came in with the arm, it was all over bar the shouting for the visitors. The Bengal pacer then finished off the match with a day to spare, having Trent Boult caught by Murali Vijay running backwards from first slip with the batsman top edging a short delivery. 
Earlier the home team finished their second innings at 263 after resuming at the overnight score of 215 for eight. Saha (58 n o, 120b, 6×4) picked up his second half century of the game and Bhuvneshwar Kumar also added to India’s tally with a sweet little knock of 23 (51b, 2×4, 1×6). Saha, the local lad was not dismissed during the entire game and on a double-paced pitch, it was indeed a great effort. The two put on an invaluable partnership of 36 runs for the ninth wicket, before Neil Wagner (1/45) dismissed Kumar to pick up his 99th Test wicket.
Scorecard
India Ist innings 316;
New Zealand Ist innings 204;
India 2nd Innings (overnight 215/8):
Wriddhiman Saha n o 58, Bhuvneshwar Kumar c Nicholls b Wagner 23, Mohammed Shami c Latham b Boult 1; Extras: (b-10, lb-1, w-3) 14; Total: (all out) 263.
Fall: 1-12 (Vijay), 2-24 (Pujara), 3-34 (Dhawan), 4-43 (Rahane), 5-91 (Kohli), 6-106 (Ashwin), 7-209 (Sharma), 8-215 (Jadeja), 9-251 (Kumar), 10-263 (Shami).
Bowling: Trent Boult 17.5-6-38-3, Matt Henry 20-2-59-3, Neil Wagner 15-3-45-1, Jeetan Patel 8-0-50-0, Mitchell Santner 16-2-60-3.
New Zealand IInd innings:
Tom Latham c Saha b Ashwin 74, Martin Guptill lbw b Ashwin 24, Henry Nicholls c Rahane b Jadeja 24, Ross Taylor lbw b Ashwin 4, Luke Ronchi b Jadeja 32, Mitchell Santner lbw b Mohammed Shami 9, BJ Watling b Mohammed Shami 1, Matt Henry c Kohli b Jadeja 18, Jeetan Patel b Kumar 2, Neil Wagner n o 5, Trent Boult c Vijay b Shami 4; Extras: 0; Total: (all out) 197.
Fall: 1-55 (Guptill), 2-104 (Nicholls), 3-115 (Taylor), 4-141 (Latham), 5-154 (Santner), 6-156 (Watling), 7-175 (Ronchi), 8-178 (Patel), 9-190 (Henry), 10-197 (Boult).
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 12-4- 28-1, Mohammed Shami 18.1-5-46-3, Ravi Ashwin 31-6-82-3, Ravindra Jadeja 20-3-41-3.
Team effort pleases Kohli
India skipper Virat Kohli stated after winning the series against New Zealand here Monday that his side won’t take the foot of the pedal in spite of once more reclaiming the No. 1 Test spot.
“I mentioned this before also, rankings are something that are just an incentive for what you do on the field. I didn’t even know how many points difference we had to get to be No 1 again. We just want to win every game we play, it’s as simple as that,” Kohli said Monday in the post match news conference.
He added, “It doesn’t mean that we take the foot off the pedal in Indore. We don’t drop intensity there, we don’t drop our character, our vision will always be to win a Test match for the country.”
Kolhi also said that the victory at the Eden Gardens was more enjoyable to him because it was the result of a huge team effort. “Look, a brilliant hundred in the fourth innings or a devastating bowling spell can win you games. But then those are individual efforts. Without taking anything away from those efforts, I feel very happy when everyone comes to the party,” stated Kohli. 
“Here the pacers have taken 12 wickets in the game, the spinners for once have had to take a backseat. It shows the balance of the team. Bowlers like Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and (Mohammed) Shami have also made handsome contributions. As a captain it makes me immensely proud,” he added.
Keeper and man of the match Wriddhiman Saha came in for special praise from his skipper. “Those runs at the end in both the innings were very crucial,” asserted Kohli. “I’ve long said that Saha is the best keeper in the country. With him scoring runs at crucial junctures… he really turned the game around.”
India sit on top of Test ranking chart
India dislodged arch rivals Pakistan to claim Monday the numero uno spot in the ICC Test rankings following their series-clinching comprehensive 178-run win over New Zealand in the second cricket Test in Kolkata.
India’s win over New Zealand means that they will be ranked No.1 when the Test chart is declared at the end of the ongoing three-match series.
Kohli’s side had entered the series against New Zealand trailing Pakistan by one point and needed to win the series to reclaim the No.1 position for the fourth time since the current rankings system was introduced in 2003.
India have previously been at the top of the table from November 2009 to August 2011 and then briefly during January-February 2016 and in August 2016. To celebrate India’s No.1 Test ranking, they will be presented with the ICC Test Championship mace.
If India win 3-0, then they will finish on 115 points and on 113 in case of a 2-0 series win. Either of the result will mean even if Pakistan blanks out the West Indies, they will not be able to overhaul India as the highest ranked country as they can only finish with 112 points.
However, if New Zealand earn a consolation victory at Indore, then India will finish on 111 points, which, in turn, will give Pakistan a sniff to reclaim the No.1 ranking and the mace.
BCCI lauds Men in Blue
The BCCI congratulated the Indian cricket team Monday for reclaiming the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings and said that it reflects the side’s performance in the last 12 months. BCCI president Anurag Thakur said: “I congratulate Team India for their dominant show in Test cricket, which is the pinnacle of sport. The ICC Test rankings rightly reflect the impressive performance Virat Kohli and his boys have displayed since the overseas tour of Sri Lanka. A washout in the fourth Test at Port of Spain against the West Indies during India’s last Test series had cost Virat Kohli’s men the top spot by just one point.
Agencies
