New Zealand wrapped up the series opener by eight wickets in Bengaluru to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series against India on the final day on Sunday, October 20. This was India's first defeat at home in Tests in seven matches since the Hyderabad encounter against England earlier this year in January and a first against the Kiwis since 1988 when the John Wright-led side won at the Wankhede Stadium featuring the likes of Ravi Shastri for India and Ian Smith for New Zealand, the duo currently in the commentary box for the current Test.
The result meant that India's points percentage dropped to 68.05 from 74.24 following the defeat. India stayed at the top of the points table in the World Test Championship (WTC) and are very much on their way to a spot in the final, however, they can't take things easy now with a couple of matches to go against New Zealand and then five against Australia.
New Zealand, on the other hand, moved up a couple of places from sixth to fourth place with a PCT of 44.44. New Zealand still have to win all of their five remaining matches in the current WTC cycle, however, starting the series against and in India would give them a lot of confidence and set them up well for the remaining games in Pune and Mumbai.
World Test Championship (WTC) standings (updated after PAK vs ENG 2nd Test, IND vs NZ 1st Test)
| Rank | Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draw | Points | PCT |
| 1. | India | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 98 | 68.06 |
| 2. | Australia | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 90 | 62.50 |
| 3. | Sri Lanka | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 55.56 |
| 4. | New Zealand | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 44.44 |
| 5. | England | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 93 | 43.06 |
| 6. | South Africa | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 38.89 |
| 7. | Bangladesh | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 33 | 34.38 |
| 8. | Pakistan | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 25.93 |
| 9. | West Indies | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 18.52 |
This is the third edition of the World Test Championship and this is the only one where every team has lost a home Test and won an away Test with New Zealand sealing a win in Bengaluru. New Zealand still have a lot to do in terms of catching up with the likes of India, Australia and Sri Lanka and with South Africa breathing down their neck in the race for the final.
India have some things to ponder upon as they will now have to win at least two in Australia, that's after if they seal the New Zealand series 2-1 now.
