Here are the five Indian bowlers who managed to impress in New Zealand in Test matches.
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India is already number one in the WTC points table and will look to add a few more points in the kitty. The visitors last won a Test series in 2009 in New Zealand and though the batsmen have been the heroes of some of the victories, it has been the Indian bowlers who managed to upstage the opposition batsmen.
In the 1960s-1970s, Indian spinners ruled the roost even in New Zealand, while the Indian fast bowlers came to the fore in the 2000s, giving some unforgettable performances. Team COC has chosen five of such displays of amazing bowling from Indian bowlers in Tests in New Zealand.
Check out the five of the best bowling performances in Tests by Indian bowlers in New Zealand
6/94- BHAGWAT CHANDRASHEKHAR, Auckland, 1976
Bevan Congdon made 54, while John Morrison Ken Wadsworth and Dayle Hadlee made useful contributions with the bat. The wrecker-in-chief was India’s top leg-spinner Bhagwat Chandrashekhar, who ripped through the batting order with figures of 6/94. He had removed both the openers and then came back to wipe the tail off as well.
India responded by scoring 414 with Gavaskar (116) and Surinder Amarnath (124), who made his Test debut, being the top-scorers. New Zealand could only make 215 in their second innings with John Parker and Bevan Congdon making fifties, which left India 68 runs to win. They won the match by 8 wickets and 1-0 lead in the series.
6/63- HARBHAJAN SINGH, Hamilton, 2009
2009 was the last time India won a Test series in New Zealand and the only Test they won in the three-match series was the first one in Hamilton. MS Dhoni had won the toss and chose to field first.
New Zealand made 279 runs with Jesse Ryder (102) and Daniel Vettori (118) making the majority of runs. Ishant Sharma (4/73), and Munaf Patel (3/60) were the top wicket-takers for the Indian team. India, on the other hand, replied with 520 runs as Sachin Tendulkar made 160 and Dravid, Gambhir and Zaheer Khan scoring half-centuries.
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New Zealand needed to make a big score in the second do to have an advantage over India. But they could only manage 279 runs on the back of half-centuries from Daniel Flynn and Brendon McCullum. It was all due to Harbhajan Singh’s efforts, as he picked 6/63 in 28 overs. He had top-order wickets and tail-enders, which kept the Kiwi’s lead to just 38 runs.
India reached the target with all 10 wickets in hand, winning the first Test and taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
5/29- ZAHEER KHAN, Hamilton, 2002
The second Test match of the 2002 series was played in Hamilton and saw the bowlers run riot in the first innings of both teams. The ball swung heavily in the air and the wicket provided bounce and movement. New Zealand won the toss and chose to field first.
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Shane Bond and Daryll Tuffey picked four wickets each as India was routed for 99 runs, with only Laxman and Harbhajan getting into double digits and going past twenty. New Zealand fancied taking a big lead after such a performance. However, Zaheer Khan managed to take advantage of the conditions better as his figures of 5/29 kept the Kiwis to just 94 runs.
It was an amazing effort from the left-handed bowler, who swung and moved the ball at a pretty good speed, removing the top three batsmen in Richardson, Fleming, and Vincent and giving India the edge.
India made 154 in their second innings and setting New Zealand a target of 160 runs, which they chased down despite the best efforts of the Indian bowling attack.
6/51- ISHANT SHARMA, Wellington, 2014
New Zealand found it difficult to negotiate the pace and bounce extracted by Ishant Sharma, who picked 6/51 and along with Mohammad Shami’s 4/70, routed the home side to 192 runs. Kane Williamson had top-scored with 47 runs and was the only one who could handle the heat of Ishant, who looked like he could do no wrong.
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India replied with 438 with century from Ajinkya Rahane and 98 from Shikhar Dhawan. However, any hope of an Indian win was doused when Brendon McCullum became the first New Zealander to hit a Test triple hundred, making 302 and centuries from BJ Watling and debutant Jimmy Neesham took the side to 680/8d.
India played out the remaining time making 166/3 in chase of the 435-run target. Virat Kohli scored 105* as India lost the first three wickets cheaply, but managed to draw the match.
8/76- ERAPALLI PRASANNA, Auckland, 1976
If Bhagwat Chandrashekhar was the bane of the New Zealand team in the first innings of this Auckland Test in 1976, his partner in crime Erapalli Prasanna came knocking on their door in the second innings.
Chandra’s 6/94 kept New Zealand to 266 runs in first innings and India replied with 414 runs. Gavaskar and Surinder Amarnath scored centuries and Mohinder Amarnath made 64. The Glenn Turner-led Kiwi side had to make big runs in the second innings to make a meal of the game.
Congdon and Parker made half-centuries, but Prasanna showed his magic with the ball, picking 8/76 with Chandra assisting with two wickets, New Zealand could only manage 215 runs. India got a target of 68 runs to chase, which they did with ease losing only two wickets and won the match by 8 wickets and led the three-match series 1-0.