India Get Whitewashed

New Zealand clean sweep Test series

The Test series between India and New Zealand has come to a conclusion. With this conclusion, New Zealand ensured that India got whitewashed for the first time at home; when a series has consisted of three or more Tests.

This isn't the first time India got whitewashed at home. India were beaten 2-0 by South Africa back in 2000. This was a 2-match series. This was also the first time India had lost three or more Tests at home since 1983. Between 1953 and 1980, India had lost three matches (in a longer series) five times.

India failed to chase the target of 147 (they were bowled out for 121). As a result, this became the secnd lowest total they failed to chase. The lowest was 121 against the West Indies in 1997 in Bridgetown. They were bowled out for 81.

On the flip side, this was the second lowest total New Zealand were successful in defending. The lowest was 137 against England; back in 1978, at Wellington. They won that match by 72 runs.

In the two matches that he'd played at Wankhede; Ajaz Patel has taken 25 wickets for New Zealand. This was the highest number of wickets taken by an away bowler against India, in India at a single venue. Patel overtook the great Sir Ian Botham; who took 22 wickets. He took the wickets also at Wankhede.

Ajaz Patel and Ravindra Jadeja combined for the first instance of four five-wicket hauls by left-arm bowlers (spinners or otherwise) in a Test match.

Only once before did two left-arm bowlers have ten-wicket hauls in the same Test - Iqbal Qasim and Ray Bright in the 1980 Karachi Test between Pakistan and Australia.

Eight bowlers have now taken two ten-wicket hauls (the taking of 10 or more wickets in a match) by an away venue. Apart from Patel, the late, great Shane Warne was the last to achieve this feat; he had two ten-wicket hauls in four tests at The Oval (England).

India captain, Rohit Sharma, had a batting average of 13.30 after ten home series innings. This is the second-lowest for a captain in a home Test season (minimum of eight innings in the top seven). The lowest is by Nasser Hussain (England), who averaged 10.22 across six home Tests in 2000.

This series result leads India in a bit of a pickle in regards to reaching the World Test Championship final in June of next year. India have one more series to play. This is an away trip to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

To be certain of still finishing in the top two, India now need to beat Australia 4-0. Four wins and a draw will lift India's points per win % to 65.79, which will be marginally more than New Zealand's maximum (64.29%) if they blank England 3-0 at home.

India will then be at worst second on the points table, after South Africa, who can finish on a maximum of 69.44% with 2-0 home wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. However, these scenarios are based on other teams maximising their points.

For New Zealand, If they win each of their three remaining Tests, against England at home, they will finish on 64.29%. It won't ensure qualification, but it will certainly keep them in the mix.