We review the third Test between India and New Zealand in Mumbai where Ajaz Patel bowled New Zealand to an incredible win.

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Talking Points:

• Is this the finest Test series win of all time?
• New Zealand overcome great odds in dream sequence
• The categories of outrage accompanying an Indian defeat
• The potency of left-arm spin in India
• Ajaz Patel's dream Test
• New Zealand's bowlers strike gold on tricky pitch
• To attack or to defend: India's batting dilemma
• Rohit Sharma's aggressive approach
• India's choice to not play four spinners in the final two Tests
• Ashwin v the sweeps: and what his length seems to suggest
• The intriguing possibilities ahead of the WTC final

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

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Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh

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Related:

• Black Caps' unseen challenges on the way to whitewash of India - Andrew Voerman - Stuff.co.nz
• Why rank turners actually reduce India's home advantage - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo
• India swept away by Ajaz Patel - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack
• A bad equilibrium - Harigovind S - Kohli and Kipling Substack

We review the second Test between India and New Zealand in Pune where Mitchell Santner bowled New Zealand to their greatest series victory.

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Talking Points:

• New Zealand's finest hour: breaking India's 13 year home streak
• When India were dominated in typical Indian conditions
• Mitchell Santner's golden Test
• India's batters caught between defense and attack
• India's spinners undone by a barrage of sweeps and reverse-sweeps
• Washington Sundar's terrific spells
• Were India's spinners too quick for this pitch?
• The question of length: and the problem in front of Ashwin and Jadeja
• Rohit Sharma's urge to attack - and how it could be getting him in trouble
• Jaiswal's blistering knock
• India's problem of a core group aging together

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

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Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Santner Collects Thirteen, New Zealand Make History - Kartikeya Date - Cricketing View Substack
• Black Caps' greatest achievement fuelled by unlikely spin-bowling hero Mitchell Santner - Andrew Voerman - Stuff.co.nz

• Bittersweet moment for India, as one of cricket's great winning streaks ends - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo

We review the first Test between India and New Zealand in Bangalore - a magnificent match that will be remembered for a long, long time.

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Talking Points:

• Pitch-perfect conditions for New Zealand's bowlers
• The sub-air effect: how Bangalore's drainage system played its part
• India misreading the pitch and choosing three spinners
• The decision to bat first under cloudy skies
• Henry, O'Rourke and Southee: unplayable in the gloom
• Rachin Ravindra: a superstar in the making
• The astonishing Sarfaraz-Pant partnership
• Sarfaraz' unique handiwork
• Bumrah's spell on the final morning
• India's potential reaction to this defeat - and thoughts on the surface in Pune

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

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Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Marvelous New Zealand win in Bangalore - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack
• Batting magic in Bengaluru as India threaten something special - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo
• How Rachin Ravindra defanged the Indian spinners - Sandip G - Indian Express

We preview the upcoming three Test series between India and New Zealand - and also discuss England's win over Pakistan in the Test in Multan.

Talking Points:

• The India-New Zealand rivalry down the years
• New Zealand in transition - after the retirements of Boult and Wagner
• Rachin Ravindra's terrific 92 at Galle in the recent series v Sri Lanka
• New Zealand's reliance on part-timers to fill in some spin overs
• Should New Zealand play to their pace strength in Bangalore and Mumbai?
• The Pakistan-England Test and what it taught us about bowling in Test cricket
• The batting-centric nature of cricketing discourse and why that is problematic
• Would a team with a world-class bowling attack and 6 'average' batters win as much as a team with the same bowling attack and 6 great batters?

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

Mahesh Sethuraman (@cornerd)

*

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Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Will O'Rourke's Canterbury Tales - Deivarayan Muthu - ESPNcricinfo
• A freakish ten-for and good old Indian dominance - 81allout review of the India v New Zealand series in 2021
• Two seamers or three? The big Black Caps question ahead of India tests -Andrew Voerman - Stuff.co.nz
• Why Pakistan Aren't Winning, And Why Batting Is Irrelevant In Test Cricket - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview Substack

We review India's magnificent win over Bangladesh in the second Test in Kanpur.

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Talking Points:

• India doing both the expected and unexpected at the same time
• India's great bowling attack and the art of picking 20 wickets
• Jasprit Bumrah - in a rarefied space of fast bowling
• Jadeja's speeds v Bangladesh's spinner's speeds
• India's batting assault
• Kanpur 2021 v Kanpur 2024
• Kohli, Shastri and the decision to play five fast bowlers
• Jaiswal's remarkable start to his Test career

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

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Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• The simple genius of Ravindra Jadeja - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview substack
• Rohit Sharma and the sixes that woke up a dead game - Alagappan Muthu - ESPNcricinfo
• A freakish ten-for and good old Indian dominance - 81allout review of the India v New Zealand series in 2021

We review India's 280-run win over Bangladesh in the first Test in Chennai.

Talking Points:

• Bangladesh complete... then lose by 280 runs
• Bangladesh's impressive trio of pacers
• The sessions that Bangladesh won - before the ball got older and runs flowed
• The sweep v drive ratio: and why Bangladesh chose to sweep much more
• India's spinners finding the right pace for the conditions
• Mohammad Siraj's relentless second-innings spell
• Mehidy and Shakib: too slow with the ball?
• Rishabh Pant's grand return to Test cricket
• Shubman Gill's purple patch in Tests

Participants:

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

*

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Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Ashwin, Jadeja, Bumrah, Siraj, Akash Deep Lead India Into The Black - Kartikeya Date - Cricketingview substack
• Ashwin's double act of hundred and six-for secures 1-0 lead for India - Sidharth Monga - ESPNcricinfo
• Reminiscing special memories from my home test - R Ashwin - YouTube
• Why does India need a players' association? Ask a former cricketer - Karthik Krishnaswamy - ESPNcricinfo

We chat with ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent Mohammad Isam about Bangladesh's historic series win in Pakistan and their chances in the upcoming two-Test series in India.

Talking Points:

• Bangladesh's dream-like comeback wins in the two Tests in Rawalpindi
• A bowling attack with tremendous variety - world-class spin and promising pace
• The arrival of Nahid Rana - and his ferocious spells in Pakistan
• The symbolism of Bangladesh's series win amidst the political climate in the country
• Mehidy Hasan Miraz - workhorse, counter-puncher, MVP
• Can Bangladesh's attack adapt to India's varied conditions?
• The challenge of a two-Test series without any warm-up games
• India's unsettled top six
• How spin-friendly conditions could help Bangladesh narrow the gap

Participants:

Mohammad Isam (@Isam) | ESPNcricinfo

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

Ashoka

Kartikeya Date (@cricketingview) | Substack| ESPNcricinfo

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Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

• Bangladesh's small wonders conjure a Rawalpindi miracle - Mohammad Isam - ESPNcricinfo
• Nahid Rana: a new express finds fame in Rawapindi - Mohammad Isam - ESPNcricinfo
• The quirks and challenges of covering Bangladesh cricket - 81allout podcast with Mohammad Isam on his book 'On the Tiger's Trail'

In the latest episode we chat with Paras Mhambrey on his recent stint as the bowling coach of the Indian team. We discuss India's varied bowling attack and how he managed the transition from one set of fast bowlers to the next.

Participants:

Paras Mhambrey

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee)

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buy books republished by 81allout:

War Minus the Shooting by Mike Marqusee

Cricket Beyond the Bazaar by Mike Coward

The Summer Game by Gideon Haigh

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related:

‘We have a cluster of fast bowlers who have got exposure in white-ball cricket and are not far away (from Test call-up)’, says Paras Mhambrey - Indian Express

Data driven: How Mhambrey's work is helping Shami & Co - Sanjjeev K Samyal - Hindustan Times

‘What a bowler thinks and what he actually does are different things’ – Bharat Arun interview with 81allout

The value of data analysis and how the Indian team embraced it - 81allout podcast with Himanish Ganjoo

'I cannot tell a bowler what to do or not do. I need to help them understand their own rhythm' - Bharat Arun interview - Karthik Krishnaswamy - The Cricket Monthly