Team India has succumbed to another defeat in the final match of the Test series against New Zealand, as the hosts clinch a 2-0 victory. Another failure of the batting order, and Virat Kohli and his squad have suffered an embarrassing defeat in the 3rd day of the game today, winding up their lengthy tour of the Kiwis to a shameful conclusion. Bundling out the visitors by 124, New Zealand chased down the target with 7 wickets at hand today in Christchurch.
With Hanuma Vihari and Rishabh Pant on strike, India resumed their score of 97 for 6 from tomorrow, but couldn’t battle it out against an overwhelming Kiwi bowling squad. Both Vihari (9) and Pant (4) saw early dismissals, and tail enders Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah had the same fate. However, Ravindra Jadeja, who set the Hagnely Oval on a frenzy after that superhuman catch yesterday, made an effort of 16, with one boundary and one over boundary, keeping his strike till the end.
The Black Caps pacer duo Tim Southee and Trent Boult continued their hunt, as they picked up a total of 7 wickets. Boult dismissed Pant to make it his fourth wicket of the match, and Southee completed a triple strike, picking Vihari and Shami today.
With a target set of 132, the New Zealand openers Tom Latham and Tom Blundell started the chase with brilliant double fifties. Latham scored 52, including ten fours, and Blundell landed a 55, consisting of eight boundaries and a single six.
The opening duo’s stunning efforts already sealed New Zealand’s victory, as even low scores from the middle order batsmen had the hosts winning the match. Skipper Kane Williamson, who’s bad form continues in the series, scored only five, equal to Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls, who both kept their strike till the end of the chase.
Umesh Yadav, who is in the squad as a replacement for Ishant Sharma, picked Latham’s wicket. Bumrah secured two wickets, dismissing Blundell and Williamson.
In the post match interview, a gloomy Kohli lamented for the team not being up to the mark.
“We accept it upfront and if we have to win away from home, we have to do that. No excuses, just learning moving forward. In Tests, we weren’t able to play the cricket we wanted to,” the 31 year old told reporters.
While praising the bowlers who had an appreciable performance across the two Tests, Kohli stated that the batsmen didn’t do justice to their bowling counterparts.
“Disappointing, have to go back to the drawing board and correct things going forward,” the Men in Blue captain concluded.
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