Henry beats Pujara, Saha to first place

While there were numerous match-winning performances from India, local boy Wriddhiman Saha ran away with the Man of the Match award for his twin fifties in the match.

Wriddhiman Saha starred with the bat in both innings, and became the fourth Indian wicketkeeper to score two fifties in a Test, which helped the hosts convincingly beat New Zealand by 178 runs, in four days, in the second Test that ended in Kolkata on Monday.

And India achieved this in style when it won the first Test in Kanpur by 197 runs and then dominated the Kolkata Test to romp home with almost a day to spare.

After New Zealand leave, England arrive in India for a series featuring five Test matches starting November 9.

New Zealand had to chase 376 runs to win the game and that looked somehow possible for a while, till the time Tom Latham was there on the crease.

Spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who shared 16 wickets in the first Test in Kanpur, nearly played second fiddle in Kolkata as new-ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami took charge with 12 wickets.

The two mystery spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took 3 wickets each and got the superb help from the pace bowlers, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.

New Zealand then began with promise.

The pair had risen from third to second positions after the opening Test in Kanpur.

The batting too flourished lower down the order when the innings showed signs of floundering.

The third and final Test starts 8 October.

India reached 227 for eight in their second innings for an overall lead of 339, a tall chase already for the touring side on a deteriorating pitch. Victory not only gave India a 2-0 series lead with one to play, but also ensured the team would climb back to the top spot in the Test rankings.

Saha had also remained not out in the first innings with a stellar 54 and he followed it up with yet another impressive knock, his fourth fifty in Test cricket.

However, they lost Martin Guptill lbw to Ashwin for 24 in the first over of the afternoon session, and Henry Nicholls fell for the same score after edging Jadeja to slip. Jeetan Patel (2) failed to replicate his first innings form, when he scored a gutsy 47, failing to comprehend the reverse swing generated from a good length ball by Buvneshwar.

Out of Indian bowling unit, Ashwin, Jadeja and Shami struck 3-3 wickets each, whereas the hero of first innings Bhuvi only get one wicket.