3rd Test
Day-3 Afternoon Session Highlights:
Ajaz Patel has shined once more at Wankhede as New Zealand has completed a historic whitewash
New Zealand scored 235 (1st Innings) and 174 (2nd Innings), where as India scored 263 (1st Innings) and 121 (2nd Innings).
So, finally New Zealand beat India by 25 runs.
Riding on Ajaz Patel’s 6-57 in the fourth innings, New Zealand defeated India by 25 runs on the third day of the final Test in Mumbai, completing a historic 3-0 whitewash.
This is the first time India has been whitewashed at home in a series of three or more matches.
Starting the second session with 55 runs still required and four wickets remaining, India’s hopes rested squarely on Rishabh Pant (64), whose fearless knock kept the hosts in the hunt.
However, Ajaz quickly dashed India’s hopes, dismissing Pant in a controversial manner.
Pant was initially given not out by on-field umpire Richard Illingworth, but on review, UltraEdge detected the faintest of edges.
The third umpire struggled to determine whether the sound was from bat hitting pad or a slight edge.
Typically, in such situations, the on-field call stands, but Paul Reiffel overturned it, leaving Pant stunned and India deflated.
The dismissal was a major setback for India, and from there, the game quickly slipped away, even with Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin at the crease.
On a pitch offering little for batting and with India’s lack of intent, it became clear that Pant’s valiant efforts were in vain.
While Sundar and Ashwin showed some resistance, Ashwin’s attempted reverse sweep off Glenn Phillips saw him dismissed, and Phillips then cleaned up Akash Deep for a duck on the very next ball.
In a fitting end, Ajaz Patel sealed the game as Sundar missed a slog sweep and was bowled out.
This win, New Zealand’s third in the series, arguably came on the toughest pitch of them all.
Batting had seemed manageable on the morning of Day 1, but conditions deteriorated quickly, and the match concluded inside two-and-a-half days.
A total of 14 wickets fell on the first day, 15 on the second, and the final 11 wickets before lunch on Day 3.
On such a difficult surface, batting was always a gamble, and chasing in the final innings proved particularly daunting.
New Zealand, however, managed a solid first-innings total thanks to crucial contributions from Daryl Mitchell (82) and Will Young (71), who helped stabilize the innings despite the challenging conditions.
Ravindra Jadeja (5-65) and Washington Sundar (4-81) made the most of the turning pitch, and while New Zealand were 159/3 at one point, they were bowled out for 235, setting India a challenging target.
Ashwin had a tough first innings, failing to take a wicket.
India had a prime opportunity to take control of the match.
A first-innings lead of 60-100 runs would have been game-changing on a pitch like this.
But apart from Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60), India’s batters struggled against Ajaz Patel’s spin.
Despite Gill and Pant’s partnerships, India collapsed, and their slender 28-run lead didn’t provide enough confidence or momentum to shut down New Zealand’s chase.
India’s bowlers, led by Jadeja and Ashwin, put up a commendable fight in the second innings, with Jadeja taking another five-wicket haul and Ashwin picking up three wickets.
New Zealand were restricted to 174, setting India a target of 147.
But chasing such a target on a deteriorating pitch was always going to be tough.
India’s chase began disastrously, with the team quickly reduced to 29/5 by the seventh over.
From that point, the game was beyond India’s reach, despite Pant’s second fifty of the match.
His brave and aggressive approach was the highlight, but with no support and the crumbling pitch working against him, India’s hopes evaporated.
Pant’s controversial dismissal was the turning point, and from there, New Zealand surged to a historic victory, completing the series whitewash.
This will go down as a monumental moment in New Zealand’s cricketing history.
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