New Zealand complete a special century with victory over India
New Zealand beat India in the series-opening Test at Wellington’s Basin Reserve on Monday, February 24, for their 100th win in cricket’s oldest format.
New Zealand dominated, and eventually defeated, the world No.1 side to reverse a string of recent defeats, marked by a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Australia in December-January. It was also only their second victory over India in their last 16 encounters.
New Zealand needed under a session on the fourth day to wrap up the game. After bowling India out for 165 in the first innings, thanks to four-fors from veteran Tim Southee and debutant Kyle Jamieson, New Zealand grabbed a 183-run first-innings lead, on the back of Kane Williamson’s 89 and some strong lower-order contributions.
Tom Blundell nudges Jasprit Bumrah through the leg side for a single to seal New Zealand’s 100th win in Test cricket. They have outplayed India and win comprehensively by ten wickets. #NZvsIND https://t.co/z0jacHqkNb pic.twitter.com/PDHx1ra678
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 24, 2020
Southee then snared five wickets in the second innings – four of them on the fourth morning – as India lost their last six wickets for 43 runs to fold for 191 and set up a nine-run target for the home team. Southee was named Man of the Match for his nine wickets in the game.
New Zealand are the seventh team to reach the milestone of 100 Test wins. Australia are comfortably the leaders, with 393 Test wins, followed by England with 371. West Indies, South Africa and India all have more than 150 wins, while Pakistan are just above New Zealand, with 138 victories. Australia also have, by far, the best win-loss ratio, with a rating of 1.754, followed by England (1.220) and South Africa (1.100).
The win was New Zealand’s 11th in 58 matches against India. They have also picked up 11 wins each against Zimbabwe and England. Sri Lanka have been their favourite opponents, with 16 wins and a win-loss ratio of 1.777 against the island nation.
Despite the defeat, India still hold the edge in the overall head-to-head, with 21 wins. England, with whom they have formed quite the rivalry in recent times, are the team to have defeated the BlackCaps the most number of times (48), followed by Australia (34), and Pakistan and South Africa (25 each).
