Watch cricket video highlights of New Zealand tour of India 2024. First test between India and New Zealand. Venue of the match will be Bengaluru.
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Only one team has ever won a Test after scoring less than 46 runs in the first innings, but India was considering doing so. Bengaluru is onto something exceptional, and it is achieved with a great attacking style with the bat. Don’t get me wrong, New Zealand was still up on cold figures, but India has been pulling off fantastic victories lately, and chasing even a hundred in the fourth innings will be difficult. A day after being bowled out for 46 and behind by 136 runs, which swelled to a total deficit of 356.
India batted at well over five per over until the last few overs, finishing 125 runs behind with seven wickets still in hand. Glenn Phillips provided a late boost for New Zealand by snagging an outside edge from Virat Kohli on the final ball of the day. When you are bowled out for 46 in the first innings, you need pretty much everything to go your way, yet India persevered even when things didn’t go their way. Their difficult bowling early in the day was cut short by India’s fastest hundred-run partnership, but their batters responded positively, putting New Zealand under enormous strain on a flat ground.
The bowlers made several errors, the spread-out fields allowing for easy runs, and a catch went down. Even fallen wickets didn’t slow India down. When Yashasvi Jaiswal was stumped, Rohit Sharma scored 16 off the following eight balls he faced. Rohit’s bizarre departure, which came off a dead defense, sent out Sarfaraz Khan, who raced away to 23 off 16. Virat Kohli, like Joe Root among the frenetic England batsmen, kept calm, although he also skipped down the track to strike a six off Ajaz Patel, almost as an homage to the upbeat approach.
On the fourth morning, a new batter will join Sarfaraz, who is undefeated at 70, to put this technique to the test. A lot will also rely on whether Rishabh Pant’s movements are restricted after missing one and a half days of play due to a knock to the knee he sustained in a car accident. The good news for India is that he was padded up alongside KL Rahul, and he removed his pads even before batting on day three. This was not the situation in the morning. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj got India off to a strong start, both collecting a wicket in their five-over periods.
The manner Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry continued to swing at the ball did not inspire confidence or produce many runs. India’s first four wickets fell for 53 runs, leaving them with a big tail. Rachin Ravindra, returning to the place where his father was born, has different ambitions. He and Tim Southee scored 137 runs in just over 20 overs, the second-fastest partnership of 100 or more against India. Ravindra trusted Southee so much that he faced just the first three balls of the first 19 in the stand, which appeared to compel responsibility from the seam bowler famed for his six-hitting.
Ravindra batted with haste but also respect, having began the day on 22 and taking a boundary off the first ball he faced, a loosener from Siraj. He scored 101 runs against spin because Bumrah and Siraj rarely handed him loose balls. The first evidence of shot production came 11 overs before the new ball arrived, when Ravindra attacked Kuldeep Yadav and lofted him back over his head to reach 50. He then went over midwicket, taking the lead beyond 200. In the same over, Southee received a half-volley that he lofted for his maiden boundary.
Suddenly, the flood gates opened. India moved from waiting for the new ball to postponing it since it just got available at lunchtime, and they needed a break to reorganize. In the 12 overs going up to the break, New Zealand scored 102 runs, Ravindra improved from 48 off 86 to 104 off 125, and Southee smashed three sixes to surpass Virender Sehwag’s 91. R Ashwin was mercilessly dismissed for overpitched balls, with his 16 overs yielding 94 runs and one wicket off a reverse-sweep. After lunch, the fresh ball continued to pass the bat, but fresh Zealand managed to pass 400.
India stepped up their aggressive attitude when they came out to bat, which made sense on a flatter pitch. Jaiswal still required some luck when the ball was fresh, but he also sprinted down the wicket to drive Matt Henry past mid-off for four. With the ball not seaming, Henry went too full searching for swing, giving Rohit an early advantage in the innings. The run rate continued to rise, but the aggressive tactic has risks that India appeared to be willing to accept. There were gasps as Jaiswal sprinted at Ajaz and was confounded by a ball that did not turn, but this team was not going to send conflicting messages.
This was the technique that had given India a rapid 72 runs and widened the field, and they were prepared to accept a dismissal for doing so. Rohit’s quick assault on Henry, even as Kohli needed 15 balls to finish off the pair, summed up India’s approach. With a drive for a four, a draw for a six, and another pull for a four, he reached fifty in just 59 balls. Then a wicket materialized. Rohit defended Ajaz with a dead bat; the ball struck the inside half of the bat and top spun onto the wicket after bouncing behind the crease.
Rohit was unaware of where the ball was, which may indicate a lack of awareness, but it is unlikely that he had enough time to kick it away. A beautiful companionship of 136 ensued. Sarfaraz was mischievous, playing the ball impossibly late or daringly early. Sweeps were used to combat spin, while speed was almost entirely directed behind the wicket. At one point, he was dodging William O’Rourke, but the ball nibbled back at him, and he ramped it over the goalie simply for fun. Kohli was more conventional, skipping down and lofting Ajaz over long-off.
Runs poured, bowlers faltered, a Henry spell of reverse swing was executed, and Ajaz dropped Kohli at slip off Phillips, an unusual option for a slip fielder. Phillips is a wicketkeeper who has had to adapt to become a utility offspinner in order to play international cricket. It appears like he puts more body into the ball than fingers, yet he continues to use angles and attempt. With the final ball of the day, he got less turn than planned and used the smallest of edges to elevate New Zealand.
