India registered a comprehensive victory over New Zealand at Eden Gardens, Kolkata to reclaim the number one spot in Test cricket. Virat Kohli’s men will be hoping that they can now hold on to their status given the great form they are currently enjoying in Tests.
It was a brilliantly fought Test match with the pendulum briefly swaying either way until India stamped their authority on the match at important junctures.
Here, we look at five things we learnt from India’s victory in the second Test.
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TOUGH TIMES FOR NEW ZEALAND
If what happened in Kanpur was not reason enough to worry, the second Test in Kolkata reaffirmed New Zealand’s worst fears. The Kiwis were outplayed in all departments and did not look like posing a serious challenge to India.
They have played some formidable cricket back in New Zealand over the last few years, but they look no match for India in highly favourable conditions for the hosts.
They did have opportunities to seize the initiative thanks to some brilliant bowling spells by Matt Henry but were guilty of letting India off the hook at crucial junctures.
Martin Guptill is yet to replicate his ODI form in the longer version of the game and, although Tom Latham and Luke Ronchi showed stiff resistance, it is going to take much more if they are to run India close in the third Test in Indore.
INDIAN BATTING STILL A CONCERN
It is aptly said that your failures are glossed over when you are winning, but if India are to take a long, hard look at themselves then their batting will remain a cause for concern.
In the first two Tests, India has failed to cross the 400-run mark in any of the four innings they have batted. In Kolkata, they were on the mat in both the innings until they were rescued by some heroics from the lower middle-order.
The Indian openers have struggled so far to put together big partnerships at the top of the order and the middle-order batsmen have been guilty of getting out after getting off to good starts.
It’s no surprise that Kohli has chosen to go in with the insurance policy of an extra batsman in the series so far.
ROHIT COMES GOOD
Good batsmen always have their favourite grounds in cricket and in keeping with that trend, Rohit Sharma and Eden Gardens were once again in harmony.
Eden gardens 🙏🙏🙏
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) October 3, 2016
The stylish right-hander, who has been grilled for his performances in Test cricket so far, was instrumental in resurrecting the team from a batting failure in the second innings at Kolkata.
Coming into bat at a crucial time with India in a spot of bother at 43/4, Rohit played a mature knock, scoring 82 runs to drag India out of the woods.
A lot of people have been disapproving of Rohit in Test cricket and calls continue to grow for his axe.
However, in his short stint as a captain so far, Kohli has already shown his proactive leadership skills and his decision to give Rohit the long rope is finally paying some dividends.
Playing as the extra bastman, he has lent the Indian batting much-needed depth in this series.
SAHA EXCEEEDS EXPECTATIONS
When MS Dhoni chose to retire from Test cricket, his shoes were always going to be big ones to fill for any cricketer coming in. But Wriddhiman Saha, the unassuming veteran ‘keeper from Bengal, has so far grabbed his opportunity with both hands.
No praise is high enough for what Saha has achieved so far in his short international career, especially his work behind the stumps. His ‘keeping has been nothing short of brilliant and he showed how special he is by hardly putting a foot wrong on a tough, uneven Eden Gardens track.
It is his batting, though, that has exceeded the expectations of many.
In both innings of this match, Saha showed what a defiant fighter he can be as he spared India’s blushes twice in the match. His two half-centuries came at pivotal points and he was instrumental in getting runs on the board when the top-order had failed.
Declared the Man of the Match, Saha is now the undisputed Test wicket-keeper for India.
INDIA’S ALL-ROUND BOWLING PERFORMANCE
India’s performance at Eden Gardens reaffirmed what cricket pundits have been saying for the last few Test series – their bowling has reached a whole new level.
The amazing consistency of Ravichandran Ashwin is being ably complemented by Ravindra Jadeja, both of whom put in respectable performances yet again.
The duo of Ashwin and Jadeja have now become a nightmare for any visiting team, but the biggest takeaway from the match – or the series so far for that matter – has been the performance of the Indian fast bowlers.
Mohammed Shami has been on fire throughout the series and in Kolkata, he showed why he can lead the Indian attack for years to come.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the tormentor-in-chief with his late reverse swing in New Zealand’s first innings and was unplayable at times. The fact the duo shared 12 wickets between them is testimony to their performances.
