What happened the last time India played a Test at the MCA Stadium in Pune before IND vs NZ Tests 2024?
India are all set to clash with New Zealand in the second Test fixture of the three-match series from Thursday (October 24) at the MCA Stadium in Pune. It will be the first occasion of the venue hosting a Test match after five years.
The first game of the series saw Rohit Sharma's decision to bat first misfiring in epic proportions. The hosts were bundled out for a mere 46, which is now registered into the history books as their lowest score in a home Test. Then, the visitors responded strongly by securing a mammoth 356-run lead.
However, India bounced back well by posting 462 on the board, with Sarfaraz Khan (150) emerging as the top-scorer. Nevertheless, the pair of Will Young (48*) and Rachin Ravindra (39*) helped New Zealand chase down the target of 107 easily to go 1-0 up in the series. Interestingly, this was the first Test win for them on Indian soil after 36 years.
The second Test at Pune will present India an opportunity to level the series, while Black Caps will look to continue their winning momentum. On that note, let's take a look at what happened when India last played a Test at Pune in 2019.
India secured a dominating victory last time out in Pune
The Indian team clashed with South Africa in the second Test fixture of the bilateral series at Pune in October 2019. They were coming to this game with a 203-run victory in the opening Test at Visakhapatnam.
The Virat Kohli-led side won the toss and chose to bat first. South Africa secured an early breakthrough in the form of Rohit Sharma (14).
However, Mayank Agarwal was impressive with this strokeplay to steer the team along with Cheteshwar Pujara. The duo built a 138-run stand before Pujara (58) was dismissed by Rabada.
Agarwal scored another century after returning with a knock of 215 in the first Test. His sublime shots were pleasing to the eyes, before Rabada also caught him off-guard for 108.
Nevertheless, Kohli displayed his masterclass to continue the scoring rate of the hosts, while stitching together a 178-run stand with Ajinkya Rahane. Thereafter, Kohli went on to register his finest Test knock of 254* off 336, with 33 fours and two sixes. Meanwhile, India declared on 601/5 after Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed for 91.
In response, South Africa were rocked by the accurate seam bowling from Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami as they left the vistitors reeling at 33/3. Although skipper Faf du Plessis (64) did well, the Proteas were bundled out for 275.
Kohli decided to enforce a follow-on, thereby asking bowlers to throw down overs for a second day in a row. The second innings was certainly a combination of South Africa's ordinary batting and India's strong bowling prowess.
Although Dean Elgar (48) posed a strong resistance, the other key batters failed to be potent with their performances. In the lower-order, Vernon Philander (37) and Keshav Maharaj (22) shared a half-century stand, but they could not stop an inevitable loss. They were bundled out for 189 and lost by an innings and 137 runs.
Jadeja and Yadav were the star performers with three scalps each for India. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin added two to his tally to go past Dennis Lillee's record of 355 Test wickets. With a victory in the second Test, India secured their 11th consecutive series win at home.
It will be interesting to see how India fare in an important Test against New Zealand in Pune. The game's result will be crucial for their World Test Championship (WTC) standings as well.