MUMBAI: India carried out a decimation of New Zealand, winning the second Test by a record-breaking 372-run margin to clinch the two-Test series 1-0 with comeback-man Jayant Yadav cleaning up the visiting team's lower half on the fourth morning here on Monday.
At exactly 10.13 am, 43 minutes to the start of the day, Ravichandran Ashwin (4/34) benefitted from a reflex stumping by Wriddhiman Saha and also completed his 300th wicket on Indian soil to finish the proceedings in a jiffy as New Zealand were all out for 167 in 56.3 overs.
The margin of victory is India's highest ever on home soil.
For a team that had fought tooth and nail in Kanpur, the extra bounce and turn did pose familiar problems for the Kiwis in a match they will try to remember for Ajaz Patel's 10-wicket heroics.
"I think it was good to finish the series as winners, came close in Kanpur, not able to get that last wicket, had to work hard here. This result seems one-sided, but right through the series, we were made to work hard," India coach Rahul Dravid said after the demolition act.
"There have been phases where we were behind and had to fight back, credit to the team. Great to see the boys stepping up and taking their opportunities," he added.
Funnily, Patel bowled 73.5 overs across two innings for New Zealand and his team, in total, batted 84.4 overs which would signify abject capitulation.
Apart from this, there was nothing much to write home about in an insipid performance from a usually gutsy side.
Starting the day at 140 for five, the victory target of 540 was simply out of reach for the Black Caps but Jayant, who had not looked in good rhythm on the third evening, suddenly found his mojo with a career-best spell of 14-4-49-4 having last played a Test match in 2017.
1/9:Clinical India thrash New Zealand to clinch series
<p>India demolished New Zealand by 372 runs in Mumbai on Day 4 to win the two-Test series 1-0. This was after the first match in Kanpur ended in a thrilling draw. The series was coach Rahul Dravid's first assignment in the longest format which saw some exceptional performances from the emerging stars and the old guards from both the sides. (ANI photo)</p>
2/9:Shreyas Iyer's red-hot debut
<p>Shreyas Iyer, who made his Test debut in Kanpur produced a top-notch effort on a testing Green Park surface against a quality Kiwi bowling attack. The 27-year-old scored a hundred in the first innings and followed that up with a crucial 65 in the second in the middle order, steering India out of trouble after a top order failure in both innings. (ANI photo)</p>
3/9:Man of the Match on debut
<p>Shreyas in fact made it to the playing XI for the first Test due to KL Rahul's last-minute injury. The youngster grabbed the opportunity with both hands and became the first Indian to score a century and a fifty in the two innings of his debut Test. (PTI photo)</p>
4/9:So close and yet so far
<p>On Day 5 of the Kanpur Test, India needed 6 wickets in the last session to wrap up the match, but Kiwi newbies Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel forged a match saving last-wicket stand that survived 9 overs against a high-quality Indian spin attack to force the match to a draw. Bad light also helped. (ANI photo)</p>
5/9:Mayank silences his critics with a first-innings ton
<p>Mayank Agarwal scored 13 and 17 in the first Test and was criticised for his technique but the opener bounced back in style in the first innings of the Mumbai Test, tonking a scintillating 150 and guiding India to strong total. Mayank then, smoked a sizzling 62 in the second innings and has now made it very difficult for the selectors to ignore him for the South Africa series. (PTI photo)</p>
6/9:Ajaz Patel's 'Perfect 10'
<p>Mumbai-born left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel created history in the first Indian innings of the second Test, bagging all 10 India wickets. Returning figures of 10 for 119, Ajaz joined the 'super elite' club of Jim Laker and Anil Kumble, becoming only the third bowler to grab a 'Perfect 10' in Tests. Ajaz took a total of 14 wickets in the second Test. (PTI photo)</p>
7/9:New Zealand 62 all out
<p>After a sensational fight in Kanpur, most people thought that New Zealand will not make it easy for India in Mumbai as well, but a horrendous batting display in their first innings of the second Test saw the Kiwis folding up for just 62. This was New Zealand's lowest Test total against India ever. (PTI photo)</p>
8/9:India spinners once again thrive in home conditions
<p>Spinners R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav shared 35 wickets between them in the two Tests, once again proving that India spinners in home conditions are very formidable. Ashwin led the pack with 14 wickets and was adjudged Player of the Series. (PTI photo)</p>
9/9:'All-rounders' Ashwin and Axar continue to impress
<p>Apart from the 14 wickets in the series, R Ashwin managed 70 runs with the bat (first Test). Axar Patel meanwhile took 9 wickets and scored 124 runs. Along with Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav, Indias spinning all rounders column is looking very healthy. (ANI photo)</p>"In the morning, the moisture in the wicket helped. You could see the difference between last evening and this morning, it was getting much more bite," Yadav said explaining his performance.
"It was just important to get the ball in the right areas," he added.
The win in which India ticked almost all the boxes save their middle-order woes will give skipper Virat Kohli lot of confidence going into the away series against South Africa starting in three weeks' time.
It was Yadav's first five-wicket haul in a Test and considering that he hasn't had a great run in first-class cricket, plagued by injuries and poor form, head coach Rahul Dravid's confidence in his abilities certainly bore fruit.
He didn't turn the ball a lot but bowling from Tata End, he used the rough to good effect as he pitched it on the cracks and got extra bounce bringing both inside and outside edges into the equation.
Rachin Ravindra edged one to second slip after he was drawn forward by the flight while Kyle Jamieson tried to play an off-break on the back-foot to be plumb in-front. It was a delivery for which he should have used his giant stride to smother the spin.
Tim Southee went for a slogger's hoick to be bowled and Kanpur Test's hero Will Somerville gave a simple bat pad catch at forward short-leg.
While the series will definitely be a confidence booster but at the same time, everyone knows what awaits in South Africa and the most pressing issue will be the lack of form of three key batters in skipper Kohli, his vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and No.3 Cheteshwar Pujara.
On current form, all three can't be accommodated in the playing eleven and with Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill showing good form and Hanuma Vihari, with some useful knocks, waiting in the wings, there are some tough selection calls to be taken.
Another concern is veteran pacer Ishant Sharma, who no longer fits in the four-pronged pace attack with Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj way ahead of him.
Kohli would expect that Ravindra Jadeja's forearm injury isn't very serious as he would again be the sole spinner at least in Johannesburg and Centurion if not Cape Town where they might use two tweakers.
Ashwin bowled well but he might again have to sit out in overseas conditions.
