India whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 in the home series of 2016/17. This stretched their streak of consecutive home wins against New Zealand to six Test matches. They won all three tosses, and won by 197 runs in Kanpur, by 178 runs in Kolkata, and by 321 runs in Indore. The Test series was part of a home season where India hosted four countries for 13 Tests.
The Kanpur Test match, the 500th in Indian history, was attended by most living Indian captains, male and female. New Zealand fought hard, conceding only a 56-run lead in the first innings. But a target of 420 was beyond their scopes as they collapsed to 236, R Ashwin following his 4-93 with 6-132. India vs New Zealand Part 19, 2013/14: A Valiant Chase and Brendon McCullum’s Epic.
As with Kanpur, no Indian scored a hundred at Eden Gardens. Wriddhiman Saha, the only person to score two half-centuries (54 and 58*), was named Player of the Match. New Zealand were routed for 204 and 197, not by spin, but by Mohammed Shami (6-116 in the match) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (6-76). India vs New Zealand Part 18, 2012: Young Guns Helped India Beat New Zealand.
The hundreds finally came in Indore, where Virat Kohli (211) and Ajinkya Rahane (188) added 365 for the fourth wicket. Kohli declared on 557/6 and batted again despite a 258-run lead. He eventually set New Zealand 475. Then Ashwin, having taken 6-81 in the first innings, got 7-59. The second-innings figures remain his career-best, as do the match figures of 13-140.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2021 08:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).