Third Test: Pant's fifty in vain as NZ sweep series 3-0 with 25-run win

Rishabh Pant's brilliant half-century went in vain as India were all out for 121 in their second innings, going down by 25 runs as New Zealand completed a historic 3-0 sweep in the three-match series at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.

Needing to chase 147 to win the third and final Test on a turning and crumbling track, Pant kept India's hopes alive with a brilliant 64. He was out after pulling India past 100 runs and India lost their way as Ajaz Patel (6-57) and Glenn Phillips (3-42) proved the thorn in their side as the hosts suffered another embarrassing defeat that will also hamper their chances of reaching the World Test Championship final.

With Pant in the middle, India were 92/6 in 20 overs at lunch on the third day, needing 55 more runs to win the match and salvage their pride. But Pant fell soon after the restart and though Washington Sundar and R. Ashwin kept hopes alive, Ashwin and Akash Deep fell to Phillips off successive balls and their fate was sealed when Sundar fell in the next over.

This is the first time that a rival team has made a clean sweep against India in a three-match series at home. Ajaz Patel, who claimed 10 wickets in an innings on his previous visit to Wankhede, claimed 11/160 this time. He has now taken 25 wickets in two Tests at the Wankhede, the first visiting spinner to take more than 20 wickets at a venue in India.

After ending the New Zealand second innings with the addition of just three more runs from the overnight score of 171/9, India needed to chase 147 in the fourth innings to seal victory. Pant raised India's hopes by hitting nine boundaries and one six in an innings of pure class as he tackled all the New Zealand bowlers with confidence. He and Ravindra Jadeja added 42 runs for the sixth wicket.

On a pitch offering sharp turn and variable bounce, the Indian batters decided to be aggressive, taking inspiration from the way Pant had batted on Saturday morning. However, things went haywire for India in their chase as they slumped to 29/5 with Rohit Sharma (11), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan (1) failing to apply themselves.

Pant, as he did in the first innings of this Test, hammered Patel for a big six, jumping down the track to drive over the bowler's head. He then blasted back-to-back boundaries off Phillips, walking down the pitch to drill it straight past Ish Sodhi at long-on and then sweeping him fine for another boundary. India reached 50 in the 11th over.

New Zealand could have had Pant for 21 in the 12th over when the left-hander launched early into a pull at a short one pitched outside off by Patel, the ball going along to hit the back pad. They decided not to review and were left shaking their heads when it was shown on the big screen that Pant was out.

With Pant taking charge, all Jadeja (6 off 22) had to do was to stay at the wicket, but he could not manage it for long as he tried to whip it away through onside and Will Young picked up a diving catch at forward short-leg to make it 71/6, leaving India needing 76 more to win the match with four wickets in hand.

Pant scooped Phillips behind for a superb boundary and then hammered Patel for successive fours to bring up his 50 off 48 balls before going in for lunch at 92/6. He hit Patel for two boundaries in the second over after lunch, but fell on the fourth ball, a faint edge of a forward defence onto the pad that lobbed for Tom Blundell for an easy catch, with Ultra-Edge getting the verdict in New Zealand's favour. Patel also claimed his second fifer of the match.

India had another slice of luck as the ball went off Ashwin's pads to roll onto the stumps, but the bails stayed intact as the crowd heaved a sigh of relief. Later, he attempted an ill-advised reverse and gloved it to Blundell and on the next ball, Akash Deep was castled by Glenn Phillips.

Earlier, New Zealand's second innings ended in just 14 balls as Ajaz Patel got out trying a slog. Jadeja claimed his second five-wicket haul of the match, finishing with overall figures of 10-120, his second-best haul after the 10-110 he claimed against Australia at New Delhi in February 2023. This was Jadeja's 15th fifer in 77 Test matches, taking his overall tally to 319.

Brief scores

At lunch, day 3: New Zealand 235 and 174 all out in 45.5 overs (Will Young 51; Ravindra Jadeja 5-55, R Ashwin 3-63) beat India 263 and 121 all out in 29.1 overs (Rishabh Pant 64, Ajaz Patel 6-57; Glenn Phillips 3-42 ) by 25 runs.