"You can win a Test, for sure. But a series?" Renowned cricket journalist Jarrod Kimber downplayed the idea of any team breaching India's fortress in red-ball cricket anytime soon in his YouTube channel 'Good Areas'. It was not an exaggeration, for India hadn't lost a series since Alastair Cook’s England brought them to their knees in the 2012-13 leg.
It was far from easy even for Cook’s men, who were humbled in Ahmedabad that winter. But the captain sowed the seeds of resurgence in that match itself with a 176-run rearguard in the second innings. What followed was the Essex opener plunder runs for fun in the remaining two Tests. Aided chiefly by the likes of Kevin Pietersen, Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann, England eked out a 2-1 series win as the era of India’s stalwarts drew closer than ever.
Since then, hardly any team had come close to beating India in a series in their backyard and teams pushing them close would be considered an honourable death. More so under Virat Kohli, who underlined his ambition to see the Indian Test team dominate for at least five years. Having succeeded MS Dhoni as the full-time Test captain in 2015, Kohli walked the talk almost immediately and created a home dominance rarely seen before. His aggressive captaincy – both via tactics and demeanour – alongside a string of prolific scores, among other factors, made India almost too difficult to beat and over time, made them invincible.
It was also under Kohli that India kept getting better and better in overseas conditions. The captain set things in motion during the Adelaide Test against Australia in 2014 when he realistically went for the target of 364. Despite India falling 48 runs short of a heist, it was a harbinger of his expectations he had from his team in the next few years – single-mindedly play for the win. The change in mindset helped India push the likes of England and South Africa in their backyard a lot closer than ever.
A drought-breaking series win in Australia in 2018 followed alongside the home dominance going strong. In seven years as in-charge, India had suffered only two defeats in Tests at home under Kohli, who joined an elite list of captains to never lose a series in India. With 68 wins in 40 Tests, the veteran also became India’s most successful captain in the format.
Teams expose India’s weaknesses but the unlikeliest one takes the cake
The fortress appeared to have developed a few cracks over the last two seasons. Australia could’ve been one decent batting session away from winning the series in 2023, but their jaw-dropping collapse on day three left them wondering what could’ve been.
Ben Stokes-led England bazblled their way to a 1-0 lead earlier this year in Hyderabad. However, they went nowhere in the remaining four Tests as India’s youngsters exposed the visitors methodically.
Enter New Zealand: But what did they bring to India that the other teams who went down over the years didn’t? Maybe nothing cutting edge, but primarily not letting the foot off the gas, unlike Australia and England.
Bogey team or not, New Zealand seem to know how to ruffle India’s feathers.
Sitting pretty on top of the World Test Championship (WTC) points table and starting their home season by demolishing Bangladesh, India thought they had fewer things to worry about until they got to Australia.
Consigning New Zealand to a similar loss was the most inevitable expectation. It was a side that hadn’t won an away series since the WTC’s inception, hadn’t won a Test in India since 1988 and took a pounding in Sri Lanka prior to facing Rohit Sharma and co. To compound matters, Tim Southee had resigned, forcing NZC to thrust in Tom Latham.
England were the last team to beat India in their backyard, while Australia were the closest to come to end the streak in 2017 before falling marginally short. Hence, the belief was it might be one of both to pull it off sometime in the near future.
To mix caution with aggression was one of the primary skills that the Black Caps thrived in. The two Tests played in Bengaluru and Pune saw the visiting batters step out of the crease to put the mercurial Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja off their lengths.
Even negating Jasprit Bumrah’s impact significantly deserves due credit, given the pacer’s ability to swing the momentum single-handedly. Out bowling Ashwin and Jadeja in India is not everyone’s cup of tea, but Mitchell Santner alone did it with aplomb in Pune with unrelenting accuracy and by varying his pace.
He got excellent support in the form of a generational cricketer in the making, Glenn Phillips. But that’s not to say that the Kiwis had things going their way that were beyond their control. The overhead conditions on day one in Bengaluru played a massive part in bundling India out for 46.
The Indian batting stalwarts’ waning powers against spin and toss in Pune were equally compelling factors. But New Zealand were adept to ram home the advantage and register a historic series win. The narrative that New Zealand is India's bogey team remains for discussion, but time and again, they have underlined their resilience.
As for India, their WTC final chances have taken a hit and so have their preparations for the gruelling Australia tour. But the long-term prospects still shine bright and as the depth in their talent pool still has the potential to carve another long-standing dominance.
