What happened on Day 3 of the 3rd IND vs NZ 2024 Test?
As expected, Day 3 turned into the final day of the third Test between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. With the series already decided after the Black Caps won the opening two Tests, Team India faced a potential whitewash at home coming into the final encounter.
The Mumbai Test ebbed and flowed on the first two days with the visitors ending the second day on 171/9 in their second innings and an overall lead of 143. Rohit Sharma's Men wasted no time at the start of Day 3 to pick up the final wicket of Ajaz Patel and bowl New Zealand out for 174.
Chasing a target of 147 for victory on an extremely challenging track, Rohit came out all guns blazing with two boundaries in his first 10 deliveries. However, a rush of blood saw him dismissed by Matt Henry for a second time in the match for a run-a-ball 11.
His dismissal sparked a horrific Indian collapse with the next four wickets falling for 16 runs to reduce them to 29/5 in the eighth over. This left Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja with a monumental task at hand.
Yet, the duo remained unfazed and added a valuable 42 runs for the sixth wicket before the latter was dismissed for a 22-ball 6. At 71/6, India was starring down the barrel when Pant began counter-attacking.
The southpaw scored a brilliant half-century, reaching the landmark off just 48 balls to take India into the ascendency in the sea-saw contest. However, his dismissal on 64 off 57 saw India back in trouble at 106/7, requiring another 41 runs for victory.
Team India suffer embarrassing home series whitewash after 24 years
Unfortunately for Team India, the final three wickets fell for just 15 runs as they were bowled out for a dismal 121 to suffer a 25-run defeat in the third Test.
The result meant India suffered a home Test series whitewash for the first time since losing 2-0 to South Africa in 2000. Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel was the star with 11 wickets in the match, including back-to-back five-wicket hauls.
Before this series, New Zealand had not won a Test match in India since 1988, making the 3-0 victory all the more stunning. For India, it was their first home Test series defeat since 2012/13 when they lost 1-2 to England.
The defeat almost ended their chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's next year, barring a miraculous outcome in Australia and several other results going their way.