Great Win! India won the first test match against New Zealand today at Green park Stadium, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. India won by 197-run in their historic 500th cricket Test to assert their supremacy in home conditions, bowling out New Zealand for 236 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series on Monday.
Ravindra Jadeja won the Man of the Match.
R. Ashwin (6/132) completed his fifth six-wicket haul by adding scalps of Santner and Ish Sodhi (17) and Neil Wagner (0) to his three wickets grabbed on Sunday when he had become the second-fastest man to take 200-Test wickets.
Ravindera Jadeja took one wicket on Monday while Mohammed Shami took two wickets in the morning session.
Ashwin grabbed the remaining three wickets in the post-lunch session to complete India’s victory, their 88th on home turf.
For the next test match, both the teams will now travel to Eden Garden,Kolkata where the second Test is scheduled to begin from Friday 30th September 2016.
New Zealand was chasing a mammoth 434-run target. New Zealand had a daunting task at hand to bat out three full sessions on the fifth day, which has always been a big challenge for tourists in India.
With this win, India have taken their unbeaten tally on home soil to 11 matches. New Zealand, on the other hand, have remained without a win on the Indian soil since 1998.
It was Ronchi, who handed India the opening when he went for a sweep slog against Jadeja and ended up handing a top-edge to Aswhin at point. The mistake ended his 102-run stand with Santner, who scored his maiden Test fifty and kept fighting in the second session.
After Ronchi’s departure, Santner remained solid from one end and defied the Indian bowlers for the next 10 overs with BJ Watling (18).
Together they were involved in a 36-run stand, which was broken by paceman Shami, who trapped the wicket-keeper batsman LBW.
The two wickets in successive overs, pegged New Zealand back and they were on the verge of a huge defeat.
Santner made 71 runs with 7 fours and 2 sixes in his 179-ball fighting knock, before Ashwin took his wicket.
India needed only three wickets in the second session and the in-form Ashwin took all three as he sent back Sodhi and Wagner.
Both Jadeja and Ashwin flighted the ball through the air, opting full length most of the time.
With this win, India have also inched closer to the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. India Team need to win this series to go on top in the list of ICC Test rankings.
India will play 3 Match Test Series against New Zealand. After the 2nd test match in Kolkata, both teams will travel to Indore for the series finale, which is scheduled from 8th October 2016.
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