Have numbers on their side

surprise but that’s testament to the pressure we put on those guys for long periods of time.

‘‘You get Trent and Tim back and the way we know they can operate in our conditions, they were outstanding. You saw Trent’s freshness coming back in after eight weeks, and a spark with the new ball and we picked up wickets at critical times.’’

Captain Kane Williamson celebrated his 32nd test victory and 17th as skipper. Williamson’s numbers in victory are hugely impressive too: his 89 in the first innings was the top score of the match and boosted his average in

New Zealand victories to 74.35, including 12 centuries.

Williamson told Sky TV of man of the match Southee, who took 9-110: ‘‘Having his good mate [Boult] at the other end is always a nice thing for those two, the leftarm, right-arm combination that’s has been so successful for us for a long time.

‘‘They showed it again [on Monday], especially with the old ball. We know this Indian lineup can bat for days, they’ve got so many world-class players, so the patience and energy they showed was brilliant.’’

Southee now has 279 wickets from 72 tests, to Boult’s 261 from 66, the pair fast approaching the New Zealand 300 club which includes only Sir Richard Hadlee and Daniel Vettori.

Hadlee, incidentally, played in 22 New Zealand test-winning teams and took 173 wickets at 13.06, outlining his utter dominance and influence in the team’s success in the 1980s.

Of the winning Black Caps XI against India, Ross Taylor has played in the most victories. Having become the fourth member of New Zealand’s 100-test club at the Basin, Taylor toasted his 36th win, in which he’s averaged 57.74 with the bat.