New Delhi: Rohit Sharma’s embarrassing run as captain continued as New Zealand beat India by 113 runs in the 2nd Test in Pune to clinch their maiden Test series victory on Indian soil. New Zealand bagged their second win on the trot to seal the series with an unassailable 2-0 lead. Tom Latham & Co. created history as they ended India’s unbeaten streak o 18 Test series at home.
Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner picked up his maiden 10-wicket haul in a Test match as he wreaked havoc on the hosts in both their innings in Pune. Santner ran through India’s batting line-up to finish with figures of 7/53, helping the visitors bundle out the hosts for a paltry 156 runs in their first innings and attain a healthy lead of 103 runs.
New Zealand handed India a target of 359 runs after posting 255 runs on the board in their second innings in Pune. The Indian batters were expected to be up for the challenge after their dismal show in the 1st innings, however, Santner once again made them dance to his tunes with another superb spell.
The left-arm spinner picked up a six-wicket haul to help the Kiwis bundle out India for 245 runs in their second innings and wrap up a historic 113-run victory in the Test match. Santner finished with a total of 13 wickets in the game to bag the Player of the Match award. It was an embarrassing defeat for Rohit-led India, who conceded their first Test series at home since their 2-1 defeat against England in 2012-13.
4th defeat at home for captain Rohit Sharma
The 113-run loss against New Zealand in Pune is Indian skipper Rohit’s 4th defeat at home in Tests. The Hitman has now equalled former India captains Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin in the unwanted list of Indian skippers with the most defeats in Test matches at home. Both Kapil and Azharuddin lost 4 Tests at home as captain.
Kapil led India in 20 Test matches at home and lost 4 while Azharuddin too lost 4 out of 20 matches at home as captain. However, Rohit has managed to equal their record in just 14 Tests. He is now joint second on the list of Indian captains with the most Test defeats at home, standing behind only Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, who lost 9 Test matches at home.
Indian captains with most Test defeats at home:
9 – Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
4 – Rohit Sharma*
4 – Mohammad Azharuddin
4 – Kapil Dev
3 – Bishan Bedi
3 – MS Dhoni
3 – Sourav Ganguly
3 – Sachin Tendulkar
