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New Zealand's Trent Boult celebrates the wicket of India's Ajinkya Rahane - Reuters
WELLINGTON (Reuters): With a dark cloud hanging over New Zealand cricket since last month’s humiliating 3-0 defeat in Australia, Kane Williamson’s side delivered the perfect response to their critics with a 10-wicket win over India in the first test on Monday.
The victory was New Zealand’s 100th since they began playing tests in 1930. It came against a side unbeaten in their last nine tests and one that had won all seven of their previous World Test Championship matches.
The return of New Zealand pace spearheads Tim Southee and Trent Boult and the introduction of 2.03m-tall debutant Kyle Jamieson proved crucial against the tourists, also the world’s top-ranked test side.
They exploited a tricky Basin Reserve wicket to bowl India out for under 200 twice with Jamieson’s height and delivery angle providing plenty of problems.
Virat Kohli’s side lost their final six wickets for 47 runs as Boult and Southee combined to rip through the lower middle order and then finish off the tail. Southee completed his 10th five-wicket haul in tests with 5-61.
Tom Latham finished seven not out while Tom Blundell was on two as they knocked off the nine runs needed for victory in just 10 balls after the visitors were dismissed for 191 in their second innings.
“It was a great win and to beat a quality Indian side is very pleasing,” said Southee, named man of the match for
figures of 9-110.
Jamieson’s emergence as a pace bowling threat who can also bat — he scored 44 in New Zealand’s first innings — could create some selection issues with Neil Wagner coming back for the second game starting at Hagley Oval on Saturday.
“The performance across the board was a very good one,” captain Williamson told reporters. “We know we have good days and bad days but guys came back ... and really focused on the areas we needed to move this team forward.
“That was the most pleasing performance.”
‘Not the end of the world’
Kohli held his hand up and conceded his side had not been good enough but added that it was only one defeat.
“Some people might want it to be the end of the world, but it’s not. For us it’s a game of cricket,” he said. “We lost and we move on, we keep our
heads high.”
On the plus side for the visitors, Ishant Sharma took 5-68 in New Zealand’s first innings after returning from a torn ankle ligament and was especially effective when they reduced the hosts to 225-7 on day three.
