To say that the result was a foregone conclusion after Day Two at the MCA International Stadium might be an exaggeration because Test cricket is replete with tales of glorious fightbacks. But India needed a mini-miracle after falling so far behind in the second Test against New Zealand, and miracles of any nature are anything but commonplace.

With Mitchell Santner again in the forefront, New Zealand ground out an excellent 113-run win on Saturday’s Day Three, thereby taking a winning 2-0 lead in the three-Test series. Tom Latham’s side didn’t just become the first New Zealand outfit to win a Test series in India, it also became the first team since Alastair Cook’s England in 2012-13 to secure a positive series result in a country where winning even Test matches for away teams is extremely difficult. India’s proud record of 18 successive series triumphs came to a juddering halt, and while all good things in life do come to an end at some stage, the manner of this defeat in particular will hurt skipper Rohit Sharma massively.