OTD: In 2012, India played first series without Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman since 1996

A test series without Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. In 2012, it was India's first Test series without two legends since 1996. Then, captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, team India was going through a transformation, with a slightly new look in the middle order.

Cheteshwar Pujara returned from injury for the series; Virat Kohli was there, and Suresh Raina was there with Sachin Tendulkar. Virat and Pujara became two pillars over the years for India in the format. Ravichandran Ashwin was then in his prime, taking wickets for fun. The visiting side, New Zealand, had a great chance to dominate Dravid and Laxman-less India, but they did not manage to do the needful.

On September 3, 2012, Men in Blue emerged victorious against the Blackcaps by 5 wickets in Bengaluru, with Virat Kohli as the man of the match for his 103 and 51* run knocks. New Zealand offered a good fight to the home team by scoring 365 and 248 runs in the first and second innings, respectively. After the first innings, the momentum of the match was tilted towards New Zealand because of a century from the skipper Ross Taylor and a 7-wicket haul by Tim Southee. Ravichandran Ashwin's fifer provided the extra thrust India needed to overtake NZ.With only one forty-plus-run inning, the touring team scored only 248 runs in the second inning and offered India a target of 261 runs to win the match. India won the match by 5 wickets. Virat remained unbeaten for 51, and 48-run innings from each of Cheteshwar Pujara and skipper MS Dhoni confirmed the winner of the rivalry. 

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Words after the match

"Virat's batting was superb. The spinners bowled brilliantly. This bowling attack hunts as a pack... Virat fought well and soaked up the pressure," MS Dhoni said after the match. 

"It was a tricky situation when I went out to bat, and I and MS took it ten runs at a time. I needed to be more patient, and it worked. There was more turn today; it was a great cricket wicket. I always love this crowd," Kohli said.