BANGALORE, Sept 3:
Young Virat Kohli and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni held their nerves under pressure with fighting knocks as India survived a few jitters before scripting a comfortable five-wicket win over New Zealand to complete a 2-0 whitewash, here today.
Set a target of 261, the Indians were in a spot of bother at 166 for five at one stage with three wickets falling in quick succession before Kohli and skipper M S Dhoni steered the team home at the Chinnaswamy stadium with an entire day to spare.
Dhoni smashed a six off spinner Jeetan Patel to finish off the match in style and in the process became the most successful captain by winning 14 Test matches at home, eclipsing Mohammed Azharuddin’s record of 13 wins.
As the ball sailed over deep mid-wicket, scenes of wild celebrations erupted at the stadium while the Indian players stood at the dressing room to applaud the heroics of Dhoni (48) and Kohli (51), who put on an unbeaten 96-run partnership to guide the team home.
New Zealand made an emphatic comeback in the final session picking up wickets of Sachin Tendulkar, Cheteshwar Pujara and Suresh Raina in quick succession, which jolted the Indian dressing room for a brief period.
Tendulkar lost his middle stump playing across the line on an uneven pitch and Pujara was snapped up by Daniel Flynn at forward short leg.
Raina, who had pulled out India from a hole in the first innings with his magnificent 55, threw his wicket with a reckless shot as he was castled by Patel.
Dhoni and Kohli, however, took the attack to the New Zealand’s territory, treating Patel and Tim Southee mercilessly, hitting boundaries at will.
Dhoni and Kohli particularly targetted Patel to unsettle him as he was getting some turn and bounce on the uneven fourth days’s wicket.
A six by Dhoni off Patel infact prompted Taylor to bring in paceman Tim Southee who put brakes on the duo for some time.
Earlier, a steady and unbeaten 64-run stand between Pujara and Tendulkar helped India reach 147 for 2 at tea, needing 114 runs more to win on a rain-hit fourth day. (PTI)
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