Ticking…ticking… we are five days away as we countdown to the World Test Championship 2023 final.

Chapter two of our Road to the WTC Final 2023 sees the Indian cricket team host the Kiwis in the first home series of the WTC 2021-23 cycle. Spoiler alert! A TEN WICKETS IN AN INNINGS and an Ashwin milestone. WHAT? REALLY? Yes, this entire series was no less than a two-movie franchise hit and We summarize it, here.

The 1st Test | Kanpur - DRAW

New Zealand saved by light, in a sense. Or more accurately, the lack of light. We batted first, with Shreyas Iyer’s 105 catapulting India to a confident first innings score of 345. A successful raid into the Kiwi batting order by Axar Patel (5/62) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3/82) propelled the hosts to carry a 49-run lead into the second innings.

What’s next? Shreyas and Wriddhiman Saha’s half-tons set the tone for India to give New Zealand a target of 284 to chase. Could they do it? Well, they weren’t going for the chase. So what happened? Bad light forced the game to be called off 12 minutes before the scheduled close, and somehow ruined the smile on the faces of Ravindra Jadeja (4/40) and Ashwin (3/35).

It was all down to the final wicket partnership between Ajaz Patel and Rachin Ravindra, who batted out the 9.4 overs in the dying moments of the day in a dogged final wicket stand. A proper, delicious Test match if any, even if India were on the wrong side of it!

The 2nd Test | Wankhede - India win 

A series win against the reigning WTC champions, India claiming the number 1 ranking in Tests, a Test 10-fer, Ashwin’s 300th Test wicket - all at the Wankhede Stadium. Isn’t that poetic? But that isn’t this Test’s lasting memory.

Mumbai-born Ajaz Patel, who was back at his home ground on behalf of the visitors - staged the impossible - 10 wickets in a Test innings - becoming only the third player in history to do so.

Mayank Agarwal’s 150 set the tone for the Indians though, to lead them to 325. The combined bowling attack of Ravi Ashwin (4/8) and Mohammed Siraj (3/19) left no breathing space for the New Zealand batting, bundling them for just 62 in 28.1 overs, and further only 167 in 56.3 overs in the second innings. Ashwin notched up another four-fer, hitting the final nail in the Kiwi coffin with his 300th Test wicket!