With all the hype built around it, the monumentous 500th test match for Team India turned out to be a roughly even contest between the two team, where India emerged victorious as they defeat the Blackcaps by 197 runs. With a pitch conducive for batting on the first two days, Indian skipper Virat Kohli had no problem in winning the toss and electing to bat first at the Green Park Stadium, Kanpur.

The Indian openers Murali Vijay and K.L Rahul walked out to bat against a formidable pace attack. Although the ball did a bit due to the morning start and the moisture, the openers started off with some brisk shots with Vijay negating all the advantage with the new ball with his impeccable defence which allowed Rahul to play his natural game but was dismissed in the 11th over by Santner. C. Pujara and M. Vijay put up an excellent partnership of 112 runs for the second wicket as they both went on to score half centuries. India looked good at 154 for 1 but the dismissal of Pujara brought a slump in the batting order as India lost 4 crucial wickets in a span of 15 overs which included Captain Kohli, Vijay and Rahane. With the score at 209 – 5 India was in a spot of bother but a crucial partnership of 52 between R. Ashwin and Rohit Sharma steadied the nerves. India ended with 291 – 9 at the end of the day as the second new ball brought wreckage to the batting line up.

Day 2 started with R. Jadeja & U. Yadav on the crease. India had to reach 300 to gain a psychological advantage over the visitors. Jadeja played a quickfire innings which helped India reach 318. The New Zealand openers M. Guptill and T. Latham walked out to the centre to face Shami and U. Yadav. The new ball brought a quick end to Guptill’s innings which brought K. Williamson to the crease. The visitors put on a formidable partnership which was threatening to take the game away from the Indians just when the rain gods played spoil sport and the black caps ended their day at 152 – 1. With just 166 runs behind the Indian total and 9 wickets in hand, New Zealand seemed to be in full control over the proceedings at the start of Day 3. The Indian spinning duo however had a different plan in mind as they started to spin the ball viciously. K. Williamson was the first to fall in just the 5th over of the day which started a quick batting collapse. The duo went on to pick up 9 wickets with R. Jadeja claiming 3 wickets in an over and ended the innings with his 5th five wicket haul. He was well supported by Ashwin who ended up with 4 wickets and U. Yadav picked up one wicket as the visitors crumbled for 262 leaving India with a lead of 56 runs.

The Indian openers took full advantage of the new ball as they started at a brisk rate and K.L Rahul was dismissed early. The inform pair of Vijay and Pujara got going again as they played through the rest of the day gathering runs at will. India ended with 159 – 1 on Day 3 with both the batsmen reaching the half century mark. The overnight pair walked into the middle on Day 4 with the Indian team in a good position to call the shots. The Indian players had an aggressive intent from the word go and they started to take the attack on to the visitors. India had piled on 93 runs before lunch losing 3 wickets in the session with the scorecard reading 252 – 4. The post lunch session saw Rohit and Rahane continue aggressively but India lost Rahane in the 89th over and Jadeja was sent in over Saha and Ashwin in quest to score quick runs. The gamble paid off as Jadeja and Rohit started playing limited over style cricket piling runs at a brisk rate. India declared at 376 – 5 allowing both the batsmen reach their half centuries. An intelligent ploy by the Indians meant that the Kiwis were set a target of 434 with a session and a day to spare on a track that was assisting the spinners.

New Zealand openers walked into the middle for the final time with tremendous pressure with an appeal off the first ball of the innings. Ashwin was handed the new ball along with Shami and the ploy by Kohli worked magic! The off-spinner chipped away two wickets in his second over dismissing both the openers and it was just looking gloomy for the visitors. New Zealand ended their day at 93 – 4 and R. Ashwin ended up taking his 200th test wicket, the fastest Indian and the second fastest in the world to reach this landmark. With 341 runs required for victory and 6 wickets for the hosts to win the contest was exciting! R. Ashwin continued his good form picking away 6 wickets and was well supported by Jadeja. New Zealand succumbed to spin and their innings ended at 236. Team India won the match by 197 runs and R. Jadeja was adjudged Man of the Match for his contribution both with bat and bowl.

Both the teams now move on to Kolkata for the second test of the series. Team India will walk into the game with confidence, meanwhile the Kiwis will be looking to square the series. A good batting wicket in Kolkata promises an exciting contest.