Former India player Aakash Chopra added New Zealand’s win in the ongoing Test series against India is as big as India’s victory in the 2018-19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He also added that the Kiwis had won just two Tests in India before the start of the current series as well. However, New Zealand beat India by 113 runs in the second Test in Pune on Saturday, October 26 as well.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Chopra said, “If you have to put it in context, it’s as big as us winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time because it’s like the final frontier. It’s a fortress which it seems can’t be breached at all. When you have only two Tests in the history of decades, you don’t think about the series at all. However, you won the first match after 36 years and then won the second as well. You beat us once with pace and destroyed us with spin the second time. Let’s not forget that Kane Williamson wasn’t even there. If you can beat this Indian team in India in Kane Williamson’s absence, it’s a massive moment.”
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In the same discussion, Aakash Chopra also opened up in the affirmative when talked about whether New Zealand used the conditions better than India.
“They read the conditions and changed their game according to it very well. We prepared the pitch. Maybe we didn’t want that kind of pitch in the first match but we made this one. When we prepare the pitch, we also play our personnel and make our game plan according to that. It’s an away tour for the opposition team, so they just react,” he said.
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“If you prepared a pitch that has a little moisture, they would just try to do their best. They bowl you out for 46, then bat well, and when we were making a comeback, they waited for the second new ball and then attacked with their fast bowlers. If you see here as well, they played Mitchell Santner, who generally is not part of the XI unless you see a pitch that helps spin more. On this pitch, since the surface was very hard from below, you had to bowl slightly slow in the air. It worked out really well for them,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
