New Zealand resumed their second innings at the start of the day on 171 for nine, but India needed only 14 balls to bowl the Black Caps out, as Ravindra Jadeja had Ajaz Patel caught in the deep to end with fine figures of five for 55 after also bagging five in the first stanza.
Set 146 to win in the fourth innings, India captain Rohit Sharma threw the first punch by stepping out of his crease to hit Matt Henry for a four in the opening over, but the skipper’s disappointing recent run of form continued when he fell for 11 after a rash shot against the same bowler.
Patel made it two wickets in two overs as Shubman Gill, who had scored a splendid 90 in the first innings, left a ball that crashed into the stumps and departed for one.
Virat Kohli did not last long after arriving at the crease as he edged a superb Patel delivery that pitched middle and leg and turned to take the Indian batting great’s outside edge and offer a catch to Daryl Mitchell at slip.
Kohli departed for one to leave India in trouble at 18 for three on a tricky Wankhede Stadium pitch.
The crowd fell silent again as Yashasvi Jaiswal was trapped lbw for five by Glenn Phillips, and Sarfaraz Khan quickly departed after sweeping Patel powerfully, only to hit it straight into the breadbasket of Rachin Ravindra at deep square leg, having also made just one.
India were suddenly in disarray at 29 for five.
Jadeja steadied the ship alongside Pant in a 42-run stand, but a stunning bat-pad catch by Will Young off Jadeja meant India were still in trouble 71 for six.
But Pant was utterly undeterred.
He rattled the New Zealanders with series of aggressive legside shots, keeping his strike rate over a run a ball and eating steadily into the target.
A series of boundaries in the last over before lunch seemed to give India the momentum as the players headed off for lunch with India at 92 for six, now just 55 runs short of a consolation win.
Six easy singles in the first over after lunch before two more Pant boundaries in the second, from Patel, would have had New Zealand fans starting to feel distinctly queasy as the required runs dropped to just 39 with four Indian wickets in still hand.
But then came the match-turning moment.
Pant played forward to the fourth Patel delivery of the same over with bat close to pad and it turned, struck the pad and ballooned to Tom Blundell behind the stumps.
New Zealand were convinced there had been an inside edge on the way past and reviewed the umpire’s not out decision.
After a long series of replays, third umpire Paul Reiffel concluded the spike on snicko as the ball passed Pant’s bat was ball on bat rather than bat on pad, and the obviously distraught Pant had to reluctantly drag himself from the field for a well-made 64.
Ravi Ashwin joined Washington Sundar at the crease and the pair crept towards the target, but with the free-scoring Pant gone, the boundaries dried up.
Ashwin tried to break the shackles with a reverse sweep off Glenn Phillips, but could only glove the ball to Blundell, who did well to hang on.
Akash Deep arrived at No 10 at 121 for 8, with 26 runs still needed for India, and was promptly bowled through the gate first ball by Phillips with a perfect off-spinner’s delivery.
With only the No 11 now for company, Sundar hit out at Patel the first ball of the next over in an attempt to blast the remaining runs required, missed his slog sweep, and was bowled, completing one of New Zealand’s most remarkable cricketing triumphs.
Patel, who bowled New Zealand to victory by taking 11 for 158 in the game, was named man of the match, while Black Caps batter Will Young, who stepped up to replace the injured Kane Williamson with 244 runs across the three tests at 48.8 in tough batting conditions, was named player of the series.
- By Ben Allan, additional reporting Reuters
