Thumping Christchurch win caps brilliant 2018 for Test-starved New Zealand

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  • A fourth series win on the bounce for New Zealand.

    While Virat Kohli and his India team were collecting all the plaudits following their 137-run win the third Test against Australia at Melbourne, across the Tasman sea New Zealand were quietly scripting history of their own.

    Kane Williamson and his men needed just 14 deliveries on day five of the second and final Test against Sri Lanka at Christchurch to complete a thumping 423-run win.

    That win ensured that the Kiwis ended 2018 as the third-ranked Test outfit behind only India and England. The 1-0 win across the two matches also sealed four consecutive Test series wins for Williamson and his men and their sixth in the last seven series they have played.

    The 423-run margin of victory is the widest in New Zealand’s history in terms of runs.

    India will end the year as the top-ranked outfit but it is arguably the Kiwis who have been the best Test outfit of 2018. They might not have played any international cricket for almost a seven-month period  – a far cry from the packed calendars of the ‘Big Three’ India, England and Australia – but New Zealand have been quietly establishing themselves as a red-ball outfit to fear.

    While India and England played 13 Tests each, Williamson’s men only played around half that number (seven) in their calendar year. Of those seven Tests, the Kiwis managed to win four and drew two.

    Their only loss of the year came against Pakistan in the second Test at Dubai while one of the two draws came after Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis pulled off a miracle at Wellington just a few days ago.

    Williamson's men have been unstoppable of late.

    Williamson’s men have been unstoppable of late.

    When it comes to the best batsmen of 2018, Virat Kohli has been the standout candidate with over 1,300 runs in the calendar year. That is largely due to the vast gap between the number of matches played by India and New Zealand.

    If one were to consider averages (minimum of seven Tests played), then it is three Kiwi batsmen who are top of the pile in the form of Henry Nicholls, Tom Latham and Williamson.

    All three of the batsmen have aggregated more than 650 runs each in 2018 in seven Tests with Nicholls averaging as high as high as 73. Latham and Williamson, meanwhile, have both averaged a shade above 59.

    More than their impressive statistics and numbers, it has been the manner of New Zealand’s victories that have made them stand out. In the home series against England at the start of the year, the hosts dispatched Joe Root’s men by an innings at Auckland.

    The Kiwis were exceptional in the win over Pakistan.

    The Kiwis were exceptional in the win over Pakistan.

    The true test of New Zealand’s credentials came in the Test series against Pakistan in the UAE where they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the series opener at Abu Dhabi. Williamson and his men looked to be down and out in the deciding Test at the same venue before scripting a dramatic turnaround to pull off a historic series win.

    It was only the second time Pakistan had lost a Test series on UAE soil since it became its adopted ‘home’ in 2009. It was also the first time New Zealand had beaten Pakistan away from home since 1969.

    With 2019 set to herald the start of the World Test Championship, the Kiwis might get more red-ball matches than they have in recent years. On the basis of what they have shown in the limited number of Tests they played in 2018, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Williamson’s men clinch the inaugural Championship.

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