The Breakdown: 5 things New Zealand did right to whitewash India 3-0 in IND vs NZ 2024 series
New Zealand stunned India 0-3 in the three-match Test series, which concluded at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, November 3. By virtue of their brilliant performance, the Kiwis created history to become the first team to whitewash India in India in a series of three or more Tests.
Have already conceded the series following two poor performances in Bengaluru and Pune, India were hoping to register a consolation victory in Mumbai. However, it wasn't to be as the hosts came up with yet another insipid effort to lose the Test by 25 runs inside three days.
Considering that India had won 18 consecutive Test series' at home heading into the three-match contest against New Zealand, no one saw the 3-0 whitewash coming. After all, the Kiwis had only won two Tests in India before creating history during their latest visit.
As New Zealand celebrate one of their greatest triumphs, we look at five things they did right to pull off an incredible Test series win in India.
#1 New Zealand spinners outshone their Indian counterparts
India's seasoned spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were expected to dominate the series against the Kiwis. And while the latter did well to finish the series with 16 wickets at an average of 21.56, Ashwin had an underwhelming series, managing only nine wickets at an average of 41.22.
Off-spinner Washington Sundar did impress with 16 scalps in two games, but it would be fair to say that New Zealand's spinners outshone their Indian counterparts. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner played only one Test, claiming 13 wickets in Pune. Ajaz Patel had another brilliant match in Mumbai, picking up 11 wickets. Even Glenn Phillips chipped in with eight crucial scalps.
#2 Kiwi batters displayed much better technique at tackling spin
Like their bowlers, New Zealand's batters also outdid their Indian counterparts, especially when it came to tackling spin. Rachin Ravindra had a memorable series, scoring 256 runs at an average of 51.20. Will Young (244) and Devon Conway (227) also played crucial hands in the visitors' 3-0 triumph.
In contrast, Rishabh Pant (261) was the only Indian batter to score more than 200 runs in the three-Test series. The rest struggled to make an impact. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 190 runs, but did not convert starts, while Sarfaraz Khan (171) had only one good innings of note - 150 in the second innings in Bengaluru.
Significantly, skipper Rohit Sharma (91) and Virat Kohli (93) contributed less than 100 runs in the series. Barring the 90 in the first innings in Mumbai, Shubman Gill also failed to do much of note.
#3 Latham was tactically the better of the two captains
If we look at the performance of the two captains, Tom Latham was undoubtedly the better of the two leaders tactically. Rohit won the toss in Bengaluru and made a horrendous decision to bat first in bowler-friendly conditions. India were bundled out for 46 and the performance pretty much set the tone of the series. Some of Rohit's on-field decisions during the course of the three Tests were also baffling.
Shifting focus to Latham, he won the toss twice and on both occasions made the sensible choice to bat first, knowing very well that the surface would get tougher to bat on. He may not have been at his best with the willow, but Latham seemed much more in control of proceedings on the field in comparison to Rohit.
#4 Surprise heroes came to the fore for visitors
New Zealand were aided to a great extent by excellent performances from players who were not predicted to have a great series. Player of the Series Young averaged 26.55 from 16 Tests before the three-match series against India. Had Kane Williamson been fit, he might not have even played the series.
Also, left-arm spinner Santner had not picked up more than three wickets in an innings before the Test series against India. He played only one Test in Pune during the three-match series and completely bamboozled the hosts. Santner had claimed only one scalp in the preceding two-match series in Sri Lanka.
#5 New Zealand won the big moments and thus the series
It is not as if India did not have their moments in the Test series. After being bowled out for 46, they launched a superb fightback to reach 408-4 in their second innings. However, another shocking batting collapse undid all their hard work.
In Pune, they managed to bowl out the Kiwis for under 260. However, India's batting faltered again as New Zealand knocked them over for 156. Chasing 359, the hosts got off to a solid start, reaching 96-1 before another collapse followed.
The Mumbai Test followed a similar pattern. This time, India even managed to get a lead of 28 runs, but failed to chase down a target of 147 runs, crumbling to 29-5 before Pant gave them hope.