For all that spin bowling is considered an art involving guile and deception, India's spinners took apart the New Zealand batting with the precision of surgeons combined with the calculations of mathematicians. The first Test in Hyderabad had a severely truncated third day and a slightly curtailed fourth, but ended with a day to spare.
India won by an innings and 115 runs, its spinners taking 18 of the 20 wickets to fall. New Zealand, following on in their second innings, were all out for 164 an hour before the scheduled close of play on Sunday. The New Zealanders lost their nine wickets for 66 runs, with the fall of Brendon McCullum's wicket only after lunch on Sunday.
At the top of the pile stood R Ashwin, who finished the game with his first ten-wicket bag in Tests, taking 6 for 54 in the second innings and a match tally of 12 for 85. They are the best figures for an Indian bowler in Tests versus New Zealand. Pragyan Ojha's match tally was 6 for 92. Kane Williamson was the highest run-scorer for New Zealand and the only man to pass 50 in this Test, scoring 52 off 163 balls in the second innings and being involved in a 772-run second wicket partnership with McCullum.
Full report to follow
Tea New Zealand 159 & 146 for 6 (Bracewell1*, van Wyk 2*) trail India 438 by 133 runs
Masterful pieces of spin bowling, an outstanding slip catch and a slice of good fortune, had India inch closer to victory with time to spare and runs in the bank at tea on the penultimate day in Hyderabad. Following on in their second innings New Zealand were at 146 for 6.
After Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson put up the visitors' biggest partnership and Williamson became the first New Zealander to go past 50 in the Test, wickets fell in clumps, leaving two new batsmen at the crease at the interval.
The dismissal of James Franklin five minutes before tea, nicking an off break from R Ashwin to a diving Virender Sehwag at first slip had all but sealed New Zealand's fate. India took five wickets for 43 runs, with Kruger van Wyk not out on two and Doug Bracewell on 1. New Zealand still trailed India by 133 runs.
McCullum and Williamson's partnership in a delayed first session mixing tight defence with judicious aggression, had held the Indians off for 90 minutes. The wicket appeared to have slowed, flattened out with reverse swing also hard to extract from a track left undercover for the most part of day three on Saturday.
The breakthrough came in Umesh Yadav's second over after lunch, McCullum steaming off after being given leg before defending against Yadav. The sound of the inside edge appeared decisive but replays showed simultaneous points of contact off pad and bat. McCullum's had been a sagacious innings, the perfect senior colleague in partnership with the 22-year-old Williamson.
If McCullum fell to a somewhat controversial lbw, six runs later, Ross Taylor shouldered arms to Ashwin who got the ball to spin in and knock the top of his off stump. Williamson - clearly New Zealand's batsman of the entire Test - held his own at the other end, getting to 50 with a steer past third man for three.
With less than half an hour left for tea, Ojha, who had bowled 11 overs non-stop from one end, began his second spell of the day. The second ball was a peach: it looped up towards the stumps and drew Williamson towards it. As it pitched, it bounced and turned away from him, nibbed at the edge of Williamson's bat and flew to Sehwag at first slip.
Daniel Flynn had until then played foil to Williamson, but the first time he tried to sweep Ashwin in his 54 minute innings, the end result was exactly identical to his first innings. Unequivocally, leg before for 11. New Zealand's time in this Test match, is as good as up.
India won by an innings and 115 runs, its spinners taking 18 of the 20 wickets to fall. New Zealand, following on in their second innings, were all out for 164 an hour before the scheduled close of play on Sunday. The New Zealanders lost their nine wickets for 66 runs, with the fall of Brendon McCullum's wicket only after lunch on Sunday.
At the top of the pile stood R Ashwin, who finished the game with his first ten-wicket bag in Tests, taking 6 for 54 in the second innings and a match tally of 12 for 85. They are the best figures for an Indian bowler in Tests versus New Zealand. Pragyan Ojha's match tally was 6 for 92. Kane Williamson was the highest run-scorer for New Zealand and the only man to pass 50 in this Test, scoring 52 off 163 balls in the second innings and being involved in a 772-run second wicket partnership with McCullum.
Full report to follow
Tea New Zealand 159 & 146 for 6 (Bracewell1*, van Wyk 2*) trail India 438 by 133 runs
Masterful pieces of spin bowling, an outstanding slip catch and a slice of good fortune, had India inch closer to victory with time to spare and runs in the bank at tea on the penultimate day in Hyderabad. Following on in their second innings New Zealand were at 146 for 6.
After Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson put up the visitors' biggest partnership and Williamson became the first New Zealander to go past 50 in the Test, wickets fell in clumps, leaving two new batsmen at the crease at the interval.
The dismissal of James Franklin five minutes before tea, nicking an off break from R Ashwin to a diving Virender Sehwag at first slip had all but sealed New Zealand's fate. India took five wickets for 43 runs, with Kruger van Wyk not out on two and Doug Bracewell on 1. New Zealand still trailed India by 133 runs.
McCullum and Williamson's partnership in a delayed first session mixing tight defence with judicious aggression, had held the Indians off for 90 minutes. The wicket appeared to have slowed, flattened out with reverse swing also hard to extract from a track left undercover for the most part of day three on Saturday.
The breakthrough came in Umesh Yadav's second over after lunch, McCullum steaming off after being given leg before defending against Yadav. The sound of the inside edge appeared decisive but replays showed simultaneous points of contact off pad and bat. McCullum's had been a sagacious innings, the perfect senior colleague in partnership with the 22-year-old Williamson.
If McCullum fell to a somewhat controversial lbw, six runs later, Ross Taylor shouldered arms to Ashwin who got the ball to spin in and knock the top of his off stump. Williamson - clearly New Zealand's batsman of the entire Test - held his own at the other end, getting to 50 with a steer past third man for three.
With less than half an hour left for tea, Ojha, who had bowled 11 overs non-stop from one end, began his second spell of the day. The second ball was a peach: it looped up towards the stumps and drew Williamson towards it. As it pitched, it bounced and turned away from him, nibbed at the edge of Williamson's bat and flew to Sehwag at first slip.
Daniel Flynn had until then played foil to Williamson, but the first time he tried to sweep Ashwin in his 54 minute innings, the end result was exactly identical to his first innings. Unequivocally, leg before for 11. New Zealand's time in this Test match, is as good as up.
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