Right, folks. That brings us to the end of our coverage of this short and sharp series. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did bringing it to you. Do take care, mask up outdoors and stay safe. There's plenty of cricket coming up and we'll be right here to bring all of it to you. Thanks for your patronage, as always. This is Shashank Kishore, signing off on behalf of our jumbo cricinfo crew. Cheers
It's time for the post-match honours
Virat Kohli: To come back with a win is a great feeling, returning as the captain it was a clinical performance, something we've seen time and again. You want individuals to step up and guys did that. Even the first Test match was good, this was better. We discussed areas we could improve on, it was also a case of the opposition playing out a good draw and pitch not assisting the bowlers on day five like you expect it to. Here the pitch had a bit more, were able to create more pressure, also because there was more pace and bounce. All in all, the pitch at Wankhede provided the opportunity to play good cricket all around. We all are serving Indian cricket, the previous management did a terrific job, now with Rahul bhai coming in, the mindset is the same. To take Indian cricket forward. It's a good challenge in South Africa, that was the start of our perseverance to build abroad, Australia was an accumulation of those efforts. We have the belief we can win anywhere. It's a tough challenge, something we want to achieve, everyone's motivated."
R Ashwin is the Player of the series.
"I enjoyed that pitch, spun and had a bit more bite," he says. "It was a wonderful pitch. Everytime you come to Wankhede, there's something to look forward to. Before I get to what I did, it was wonderful from Ajaz. He put the ball in the right places, I enjoyed watching him bowl. It was destiny, I think. Jayant and I have a good relationship from 2014, when he flew down to Chennai from Haryana to pick my brains. Axar, I've been playing for a while at Kings and Delhi Capitals. For starters, I'd look to play a part in South Africa and finish off with a series win."
Mayank Agarwal is the Player of the Match for 150 and 62.
"Feels nice to be among the runs, this knock will be special for me," he says. "Very honestly, did nothing different after Kanpur. It was about having the mental discipline. Rahul bhai told me there's no point thinking about technique mid-series. 'This is the technique that has got you runs, have a solid mindset, stick to your game plans, the runs will come. Sunny G told me to keep my bat low, be more side-on. I couldn't do that early on but it helped. I wasn't really thinking of a century in each innings, but yes definitely should've converted the 60. Different challenge in SA, we relish as a team."
Tom Latham: Disappointing performance. Knew it'd be tough in these parts. Getting bowled out for 60 puts you behind the eight-ball. If you come over to India, you probably want to bat first. The way the bowlers toiled in the first innings was great. It wasn't quite the way we wanted it to pan out with the bat. Amazing game to be a part, a 10-for has happened only thrice in the history of Tests. To be part of it is special, we'll celebrate that with Ajaz. We head home, quarantine and then have a couple of Tests against Bangladesh. Look forward to getting home and then preparing for that series.
Vedant: "Is this going to be the hardest MOM decision or what?" -- Mayank Agarwal for me. Simple if I'm the adjudicator. We'll see.
In the USA, you can watch the match highlights on ESPN+ in English and in Hindi.
Here's Sampath Bandarupalli from our stats desk: R Ashwin's match figures of 8/42 are the second best for a bowler to end up without a five-for in a Test match. Shane Warne had 8/24 vs Pakistan in Sharjah in 2002.
India coach Rahul Dravid: I think it was good to finish the series as winners, came close in Kanpur, not able to get that last wicket, had to work hard here. This result seems one-sided, but right through the series, we were made to work hard. There have been phases where we were behind and had to fight back, credit to the team. Great to see the boys stepping up and taking their opportunities. Yes, we were missing a few senior players. Credit to the guys who came in, Jayant had a difficult day yesterday, but learnt from it today. Mayank, Shreyas, Siraj, who doesn't get a lot of opportunities. Axar, great to see his development with the bat in addition to what he can do with the ball. It gives us a lot of options as well, helps us become a stronger side. We knew we had a lot of time, didn't think much of the follow-on, also a lot of young batters in the side, so wanted to give them a chance to bat in conditions like these. Knew we may be in such situations in the future where we may have to force pace in tough conditions. So it was a great opportunity and the luxury of time to be able to do it. Was great to help in the development of our players. It's a good situation to be in, we've had injuries in the lead-up, so we need to manage our players physically and mentally, it's going to be a large part of my challenge, challenge too for the selectors and the leadership group. It's a good [selection] headache to have, see young boys perform well. There's a great desire to do well and everyone's pushing each other. I hope we have more headaches to have, as long as we have clear communication and we explain to the players why, don't see it to be a problem.
Jacq: "Another reason to love the NZ team and fans is no one ever complained about the pitches. Both pitches served up were turners, but they'd taken it upon themselves to challenge their techniques instead of some other visiting teams who simply accuse India of "hitting below the belt"." -- In all fairness, these were excellent wickets. Yes, they turned but weren't diabolical as the surfaces we saw earlier in the year when India played England.
10.15am India have taken just about 45 minutes to wrap up the Test by picking up the five remaining wickets. Their margin of victory? A humongous 372 runs. Four wickets to Jayant, one for Ashwin. India didn't need to press into service any of their other bowlers. Dravid's first Test win as coach.
We've got some reactions.
Jayant Yadav: In the morning, the moisture in the wicket helped. You could see the difference between last evening and this morning, was getting much more bite. Was just important to get the ball in the right areas. Wankhede and Mumbai is special, the last Test here, I got a hundred. Missed out on a five-for here, but helped the team's cause. It's useful to feed off Ashwin's mind, he thinks for the team in a different way, should always pick on thinking brains and add to your game. It's great learning for me.
Here's birthday boy Shreyas Iyer: I'm not thinking of cementing a place. We've got so much competition and players in good form, I just want to do well when I get an opportunity. Dravid gives you confidence, we started off at India A. We've gelled really well, his work ethic and player management skills is amazing. It's great to chat with him even outside the field. We've got a five-day break, look forward to make one [celebratory dance video].
Ajaz Patel: It's a special occasion for me and my family. To be able to do that [10-for] is special. I'm knackered but I'll use my quarantine time to recover. It's a different challenge to bowl back home, that's the beauty of Test cricket, it's about adapting your game plan and bowling accordingly. To be honest, I still don't know how to put the 10-for into words. I'm trying to absorb it, been flooded with hundreds and thousands of messages. It's overwhelming at the moment. Rachin was nervous under that one, I was nervous for him.
Rachin Ravindra: Amazing to share ends with this great man [Ajaz] next to me. Great to learn from him. I was probably the most nervous I've ever been under a high ball [for the 10th wicket]. All credit to him, when the ball was up in the air, I could see the teammates celebrating, the pressure was on.
HM Nicholls st †Saha b Ashwin 44 (158m 111b 8x4 0x6) SR: 39.63
Ben chimes in: "Taylor has been one of the greats, and there's no guarantees he couldn't score a century in his next match. But Conway and Young are both more likely to. We're not used to having the depth to drop all-time greats in New Zealand, but it's really time Taylor is moved on from the test team. We have too many capable batsman to leave him in."
END OF OVER:56 | (wicket maiden) | NZ: 167/9
- Ajaz Patel0 (5b)
- Henry Nicholls44 (108b)
- Jayant Yadav14-4-49-4
- Ravichandran Ashwin22-9-34-3
Ajaz takes strike
WER Somerville c Agarwal b J Yadav 1 (9m 7b 0x4 0x6) SR: 14.28
Jigar Shah: "Two senior pros of NZ in absence of KW, played like a slogger. Disappointing to see such rash shots from Taylor as well as Southee."
END OF OVER:55 | 2 Runs | NZ: 167/8
- Henry Nicholls44 (108b)
- William Somerville1 (6b)
- Ravichandran Ashwin22-9-34-3
- Jayant Yadav13-3-49-3
Slip, short leg are the two close-in catches. Now, there's another close-in fielder at backward short leg.
END OF OVER:54 | 2 Runs 2 Wkts | NZ: 165/8
- William Somerville0 (2b)
- Henry Nicholls43 (106b)
- Jayant Yadav13-3-49-3
- Ravichandran Ashwin21-9-32-3