"We knocked the bugger off": Where does Blackcaps' victory in India rank among NZ cricket's greatest accomplishments?

The Blackcaps' Test series triumph in India has had pundits and fans alike revising their rankings of the greatest achievements in NZ cricket history.

Where does a first ever Test series victory on Indian soil sit in the overall context of one of Aotearoa's most beloved sports?

Mitchell Santner's heroics - snaring 13 wickets in New Zealand's series-clinching second-Test win - drew instant comparison's to Sir Richard Hadlee's masterpiece in Australia back in 1985, where the seamer's 33 wickets fueled their first Test series win across the Tasman.

Sir Richard's magnum opus came during the first Test in Brisbane, where he took 9/52 in the opening innings and finished with 15 wickets in the match, which remains the best bowling performance by a Kiwi in whites.

According to former Blackcaps spinner and coach John Bracewell, both represent the summiting of figurative cricketing "Mt Everests", borrowing an iconic Kiwi phrase to summarise the moment.

"That's an Everest," Bracewell told SENZ Breakfast, describing the Blackcaps' feat in the subcontinent.

"Winning in Australia was an Everest and this is one of those things that once you've conquered it, you can say 'we knocked the bugger off'."

Santner's efforts in Pune put him third on the aforementioned list, one wicket shy of teammate Ajaz Patel's 14 against the hosts in Mumbai in 2021.

But putting recency bias aside, Bracewell - who played 41 Tests for New Zealand - believes the World Test Championship win of 2021, sealed by beating India in the final in Southampton, should sit clear atop NZ cricket's greatest accomplishments - the culmination of two years of excellence with the red ball.

"I still don't think it surpasses the World Test Championship - to win something that is seen as world based," he said.

"Bringing home that Mace, our first real world championship, I thought it was a fantastic effort and still sticks in my mind as a hell of a lot of hard work coming off.

"With this win in India, I think it's an Everest - but there are a lot of Everests in sport."

Listen to the full interview below: