Southee and Boult run through India to seal massive victory

The big boys of New Zealand fast bowling, Trent Boult and Tim Southee, did the business with the old ball to seal their 100th Test win, on the fourth morning at Basin Reserve. Twenty-eight of those wins have come in matches that Boult and Southee have played together. Their pin-point planning and execution ensured India's resistance on the 3rd evening didn't count for much. Boult started the slide, and Southee burst through the opening to bowl India out for 191, setting New Zealand's batsmen a target of just nine runs. It ended India's seven-match winning streak, and New Zealand's run of three losses.

India began your day 39 behind with six wickets in hand and 15 overs to go the brand new ball, hoping to create New Zealand some kind of target, but Boult and Southee were excellent with the old ball. On a clear but still morning, which aids swing in Wellington, they switched from their bouncers intend to search for more traditional modes of dismissals. Boult looked to create Ajinkya Rahane up for the lbw, but the pitch didn't have sufficient pace for that to succeed. So he went around the wicket to get one to seam away an impression. Rahane had to play the angle, but the movement away took his edge.

Then Southee got to his work of establishing batsmen. First up Hanuma Vihari who had toughed it out for 76 balls before this over started. Southee began with a complete outswinger that didn't tempt Vihari. Then he got closer and fuller, drawing a loose shot from Vihari, however, not getting the edge. With the 3rd ball, he scrambled the seam to play with the scrambled mind of the batsman. The ball pitched outside off and jagged back. Vihari still had the outswinger at heart, and was bowled.

Southee did the same with R Ashwin, whom he had bowled with an outswinger, first ball, in the first innings. This time around the outswinger pitched and nipped back in to trap Ashwin in the front. All seven wickets till this point had fallen to these two bowlers, so both were on for five-fors.

Boult could have sealed his when he drew a bat-pad from Ishant Sharma using what was the last ball of his spell, but Tom Latham shelled it at short leg. Boult was off to take a break before the new ball became available. Colin de Grandhomme soon drew the uppish drive from Sharma, but now Southee dropped him at short cover. The next drop, as it turned out, finished up helping him obtaining the five-for. Prior to the new ball, though, de Grandhomme got through the defences of Sharma.

With India only slightly in lead, Rishabh Pant had no choice but to follow the brand new ball. As he flicked one off the pads off Southee, Boult pulled off a smart catch at fine leg to make it a matter of time. And that matter of time was only three balls for Jasprit Bumrah, who guided Southee to second slip for a minimal catch to substitute fielder Daryl Mitchell.

The person he was substituting for, Tom Blundell, arrived to bat and help knock off the target, which was a positive sign after he spent the complete second innings off the field with a shoulder injury he suffered when fielding in India's first.