AGENCY
INDORE: Ravichandran Ashwin mesmerised the New Zealand batsmen with another magical spell of spin bowling as India completed a 3-0 whitewash of the visitors by winning the third and final Test by a whopping 321 runs here today.
Chasing an improbable 475-run target, Ashwin ripped through the brittle New Zealand batting line-up with a sensational spell of 7 for 59 to skittle the opposition for a paltry 153 in 44.5 overs with an entire day to spare at the Holkar Stadium, which hosted its first ever Test.
The 30-year-old finished with a match haul of 13 for 140 and ended the series with a bagful of 27 wickets to emerge as the standout performer in a thoroughly one sided series which helped India to regain number one position in Tests.
Earlier, resuming at 18 for no loss, the hosts rode on Cheteshwar Pujara’s unbeaten 101, his eighth Test ton, and an aggressive 50 by comeback man Gautam Gambhir before declaring their second innings at 216 for three an hour before the tea break.
There was hardly any resistance from the Kiwi batsmen as Ashwin scalped one wicket after another to demolish the opposition in just about three hours of play, much to the delight of a near capacity Dussehra crowd.
The pitch in this match did not turn as much as it did in the earlier two games but still New Zealand batsmen looked clueless against the Indian spinners. Indian coach Anil Kumble and his entire staff erupted in joy in the dressing room as Ashwin fittingly took the last wicket with a return catch of Trent Boult, triggering wild celebrations on the field as well. It was also Kumble’s first series win at home after the success in the West Indies.
The focus will now shift to the five match ODI series beginning at Dharamsala from October 16 with Mahendra Singh Dhoni taking over the reins of the team from Kohli.
Such was the dominance of the Indian spinners that Ashwin and Jadeja accounted for 41 out of 60 New Zealand wickets in the series.
It was also Ashwin’s sixth ten-wicket haul in 39 Tests and his second innings figures bettered his earlier 7 for 66 heist. Like in the first innings Left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja provided the ideal foil to the off spinner by taking two wickets.
For New Zealand Martin Guptill (29), captain Kane Williamson (27), senior batsman Ross Taylor (32) and wicket keeper B Watling (23 not out) were the main scorers as Ashwin ran through their batting order.
India had won the opening and second Tests at Kanpur and Kolkata by 197 and 178 runs respectively and completed their total domination of New Zealand at this venue by winning it by the biggest margin in the rubber.
The 3-0 series triumph was the third for India in their last four home rubbers, the earlier ones achieved against Australia and West Indies, and stretched their enviable winning Test record at home to 12 out of 13 encounters, including the 3-0 rout of South Africa last season. (PTI)
score board
India 1st innings 557/5 dec
New Zealand 1st innings 299/10
India 2nd innings
M Vijay run out (Guptill/†Watling) 19
G Gambhir c Guptill b Patel 50
CA Pujara not out 101
V Kohli* lbw b Patel 17
AM Rahane not out 23
Extras 06
Total 216/3 dec
New Zealand 2nd innings
TWM Latham lbw b Yadav 06
MJ Guptill lbw b Jadeja 29
KS Williamson* lbw b Ashwin 27
LRPL Taylor b Ashwin 32
L Ronchi b Ashwin 15
JDS Neesham c Kohli b Jadeja 00
BJ Watling† not out 23
MJ Santner b Ashwin 14
JS Patel b Ashwin 00
MJ Henry c Mohammed Shami b Ashwin 00
TA Boult c & b Ashwin 04
Extras 03
Total 153/10
