Kiwis fly high

THE New Zealand men’s cricket team, often described as perennial underachievers, punched above its weight to outclass India in Bengaluru, recording its first Test win on Indian soil in 36 long years. Beating India at home is no mean feat — over the past decade or so, Indian cricketers have become nearly invincible in their backyard in all formats of the game. Commendably, the Kiwis have overcome a big barrier by getting the better of the Rohit Sharma-led squad, with batter Rachin Ravindra and pacer Matt Henry being the star performers.

Team India was on the back foot right from the outset as the New Zealand bowlers bundled it out for a shockingly low total of 46 in the first innings. Though India put up a gallant fightback in the second innings, thanks to power-packed knocks by Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant, it was not enough to stop the Kiwis from romping home. The New Zealanders have been a thorn in India’s side in recent years — they knocked their rivals out of the 2019 ODI World Cup and clinched the inaugural ICC World Test Championship two years later. Gone are the days when the Kiwis were regarded as ‘softies’ in the cricket arena; they are now as tough as nails and give no quarter even to the most formidable teams. The sterling performance of its women’s cricket squad in the T20 World Cup in the UAE has given the island nation another reason to feel proud of its gutsy players.

The Bengaluru defeat is a wake-up call for Indian cricketers. They need to hit back strongly and show the Kiwis their mettle. The loss to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final in front of a partisan crowd in Ahmedabad had left the team battered and bruised. However, seven months later, they were crowned the T20 world champions. Similar resilience and determination would be needed to turn the tables on the never-say-die Kiwis.