Ajaz stars as New Zealand beat India 3-0 in historic Test sweep

New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel took six wickets as his side sealed a historic 3-0 Test sweep in India, with a thrilling 25-run win in the third Test on Sunday.

Chasing 147 for victory, India were bowled out for 121 in 29.1 overs on day three, after Rishabh Pant hit a valiant 64 at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Ajaz bowled Washington Sundar for 12 for the final wicket as he roared in delight and the Black Caps celebrated the rare triumph and their first ever Test series win on Indian soil.

This is the first time India have been whitewashed in a Test series at home since South Africa's 2-0 win in 1999-2000, and their first-ever 3-0 clean sweep at home.

Mumbai-born New Zealander Ajaz ended with a match-haul of 11 wickets, at a venue where he created history by claiming all 10 wickets in a Test innings in 2021.

In a tricky chase on a turning pitch, New Zealand reduced India to 29-5, before the left-hand Pant made the team fight back with his half-century.  But Ajaz, after lunch, had Pant caught by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, a decision denied by the on-field umpire but successfully reviewed by New Zealand.

The third umpire went through numerous TV replays to decide that the ball had edged the bat before it took the pads en route to Blundell's gloves. An unconvinced Pant trudged back.  Glenn Phillips then got two in two balls and Ajaz wrapped up the innings.

India bowled out New Zealand quickly for 174 in the first session, with Ravindra Jadeja taking five wickets on a turning wicket. But the New Zealand bowlers led by Ajaz ripped into India's top order.

Fast bowler Matt Henry dismissed Rohit Sharma in the third over, getting the captain to mis-hit to Phillips at midwicket for 11. He extended his run with the bat in the series with scores of 2, 52, 0, 8 and 18 in his previous five innings.

Ajaz bowled Shubman Gill and then had Virat Kohli, on one, caught by Daryl Mitchell at slip to silence the home crowd. Kohli has also struggled in the series, with just one half-century and four single-digit scores in this series.

Wickets kept tumbling as Phillips trapped Yashasvi Jaiswal lbw for five, and two balls later Sarfaraz Khan was caught in the deep off Ajaz, leaving India in deep trouble. Pant put on 42 runs for the sixth wicket to revive the chase, but Ajaz struck again to remove Jadeja for six.

New Zealand's second innings was over seven minutes after the start of Sunday's play.

Resuming on 171-9, Ajaz was caught at deep mid-wicket off a slog sweep as left-arm spinner Jadeja ended with a match haul of 10 wickets.

Agence France-Presse