India won by 372 runs
PLAYER OF THE MATCH : Mayank Agarwal
Batter
Bowler
That just about wraps things up - 3 T20Is and 2 Tests in this tour that started right after the T20 World Cup and has come to a close within 3 weeks. India have turned out a special performance, but the batting has been as much a one-man show as New Zealand's bowling has, and looking forward, that could make a difference in South Africa, as it did in the WTC final. That said, however, this win speaks volumes of India's dominance at home since the loss to England in 2012, as their #WTC23 juggernaut rolls on. New Zealand, the current champions, have wounds to tend to, and perhaps holes to fill in their subcontinent game. With that, it's Rishi Roy bringing the coverage of this second Test to a close alongside Akshay, Abhinand, Pradeep, Naga and Praveen. Onwards and upwards. Cheerio!
Virat Kohli | India captain: To come back with a win again, it's a great feeling and a clinical performance. You want individuals to step up. The first Test was good, and it was a clinical performance here. We discussed the performance and the opposition played out a good draw. The bowlers tried all their best, but the Kiwi batsmen stuck it out really well in Kanpur. Here there was more bounce and the fast bowlers got assistance as well, so it gave us a better chance to win the Test match. The mindset is the same to take Indian cricket forward, even with the new management. It's important to keep the standards of Indian cricket and make sure it's always growing. South Africa is a good challenge. We built it up in England and South Africa last time, and Australia was an accumulation of all that experience. South Africa is a tough challenge and a win that we want to achieve as a team. Hopefully we can play in South Africa the way we know we can play, and win the series.
Ravichandran Ashwin | Player of the Series (surprise surprise!): I think I've got 10 (Player of the Series awards now). I enjoyed Wankhede honestly, and everyday there was something new, and I could challenge both edges. It was a wonderful performance by Ajaz. It doesn't spin all the time in Wankhede, and he used the seam and put the ball in the right places, and there was a bit of destiny involved in his 10-for too. Jayant and I have trained together, he flew to Chennai from Haryana in 2014 to pick my mind, so we have a good relation. Axar and I have played since Kings XI. I would like to go to South Africa and win a series there, we haven't done that before, and hopefully we can do it this time.
Mayank Agarwal | Player of the match: It feels good to be back among the runs and this knock is special for me. I didn't change anything from Kanpur, I just had the mental discipline and determination. The technique isn't going to be the best all the time, it won't guarantee runs, but the will to fight is key. Rahul bhai told me about not thinking of technique mid-series, and told me this is the technique that's got me runs. Sunny sir said I should keep my bat low early on in the innings and opening up my left shoulder. I didn't really think about the second hundred in the match, but should have converted the sixty. We will relish the abroad challenge in South Africa, so we're looking forward to that too.
Just FYI, Mitchell Santner has got an award for saving a six, despite not being in the Playing XI!
Tom Latham | New Zealand captain: A disappointing performance from us. Credit to India for putting up a great performance. 62 all-out would always have set us back. You always want to bat first here, and it only gets worse for batting, and it wasn't how we wanted it to pan out. Guys are able to step up in different conditions and we have managed to get a lot of depth. Very special game for Ajaz, only the third time in the history of the game has a man got all ten. We're going to play Bangladesh after we get back home and we're going to start preparation for that series ASAP.
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Stats dug up by Shashikant Singh
Largest victory for India (by runs):
372 vs NZ, Mumbai 2021*
337 vs SA, Delhi 2015
321 vs NZ, Indore 2016
320 vs AUS, Mohali 2008
Biggest defeat for New Zealand (by runs):
372 runs vs IND, Mumbai 2021*
358 runs vs SA, Jo'burg 2007
321 runs vs IND, Indore 2016
299 runs vs PAK, Auckland 2001
Most Tests wickets in India:
350 Anil Kumble
300 Ravi Ashwin*
265 Harbhajan Singh
219 Kapil Dev
Fastest to 300 Tests wickets at home:
48 M Muralitharan
49 Ravi Ashwin*
52 Anil Kumble
65 Shane Warne
71 Jimmy Anderson
76 Stuart Broad
Best match bowling figures in a losing cause:
14/225 - Ajaz Patel v IND, 2021*
13/132 - Javagal Srinath v PAK, 1999
13/163 - Sydney Barnes v AUS, 1902
13/217 - Merv Hughes v WI, 1988
13/244 - Tom Richardson v AUS, 1896
- New Zealand has not won a Test series in India in their 12 attempts. Last they won a Test match in India was way back 1988 at Wankhede.
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Rahul Dravid | India coach - Good to finish the Test series on a winning note, came very close in Kanpur, but couldn't take that last wicket. Credit to the team, they have pulled themselves back from tough situations, and were a bit disappointed at not finishing it off in Kanpur. Good to see the boys step up and take their opportunities, we were missing a few seniors, but the youngsters have taken their chances. Jayant (Yadav) found it difficult yesterday, but came up well this morning. A lot of these guys don't get the opportunity to play a lot (of Test cricket), but it's nice to see them do well, especially the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Mayank Agarwal, Axar Patel and Jayant. That gives us a lot of choices opening up when the seniors do return. We didn't need to think about it (about a possible declaration), we had a lot of time and we knew we could bowl them out. Also, a lot of youngsters needed the chance to bat in challenging conditions - to play on red-soil wickets, with this kind of bounce, it'll only help them grow as players, especially when they travel and play in different conditions. We knew we had enough time to bowl them out once again. It's a good situation to be in (on team selection), we had some injuries in the lead-up to this game, that's something which will challenge us. The boys are playing a lot of cricket, in different formats, and we need to ensure the work load on them. But everyone is challenging for places, that's good to see with the amount of cricket coming up. But it is a good headache to have.
Rachin Ravindra: I think it is amazing to be sharing the ends with this great man (Ajaz) here. But amazing to learn from and see what he did in the first innings. That was something incredible and something we won't see for a very long time. That's probably the most nervous I have been under the high ball (referring to Ajaz's 10th wicket) and it was spinning so much, I was obviously crapping my pants.. but all credit goes to Ajaz for picking 10 wickets. I could see all my teammates celebrating and it was a pressure catch.
Ajaz Patel - A big occasion for me and my family, to be able to do that here in Mumbai is very special. A lot of hard work has gone for me (going into the Test). Have spent plenty of time in isolation and need to recover. A different challenge back home, but that's the beauty of Test cricket - different roles, different challenges and need to bowl in a different manner. I can't express in words, something in my career which was an overwhelming moment, have a lot of people to thank for when I go back home. Feel lucky to have achieved something special
Shreyas Iyer - It was a memorable series, a great first match to remember for me (in Kanpur). I'm really proud of the way I did (bat). I'm not really thinking about it (about cementing a permanent place in the team), there are so many players who are in really good form, I hope to be more consistent going ahead. He (Rahul Dravid) has given me a lot of confidence, having started off with India A, we have gelled well, he has chipped in with ideas really happy working with me - have had great brainstorming sessions both on and off the field. Looking forward to having a great day (his birthday today).
Jayant Yadav: Yeah, definitely (nice pitch to bowl on). In the morning with Wankhede and pitch conditions.. there was moisture and it helped, you could see the difference and we just had to bowl in the right areas. Wankhede and Mumbai have special memories (for me), like you said I scored a hundred here, missed out on a 5-fer but helped the team's cause. Very useful to feed off his (Ashwin) mind and he thinks about the game in a different way. We should always pick on the brain and then adapt it in our game.