India vs New Zealand LIVE Score 3rd Test Day 2: Shubman Gill saw India throw away three wickets and a review in the last 20 minutes of the first day
India vs New Zealand LIVE Score 3rd Test Day 2: An incredible collapse towards the end of day’s play turned the script on its head, as India went from a position of strength in the third Test match vs New Zealand to once again having their backs against the wall. India go in overnight at 86/4, having been 78-1 with only two overs left in day’s play. The hosts still trail by 149 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, with the pitch likely to get trickier as the ball gets older. These will be concerning signs for the Indian team, who will have been desperate for a win to reverse the two losses they have already suffered.…Read More
New Zealand, on the other hand, would have gone from slight concern themselves to sudden elation, watching a quick procession of wickets in the final overs of the day to see their noses ahead entering day two. With the ball already doing plenty for the spinners, and India having shown a weakness against the turning ball in the period following the 20th over, the Kiwis will like their chances of heaping on the pressure onto their opponents and taking a big first innings lead yet again.
India will know they still have plenty of batting in the tank, with Rishabh Pant joining Shubman Gill at the crease and Sarfaraz Khan yet to come, as well as the trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Ravichandran Ashwin. However, while they have the depth and quality on paper, the batters will need to reapply themselves and put together strong partnerships following the mini-collapse at the end of day’s play.
From a New Zealand perspective, Ajaz Patel will likely need to bowl the bulk of overs with Mitchell Santner ruled out of this match. While Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke are options for pace-on bowling, their spin depth is slightly weaker, with Tom Latham being hesitant to turn towards Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, and Ish Sodhi, especially with high-quality and aggressive players of spin at the crease.
Shubman Gill is the set batter for India, batting well on 31 off 38 after a testy start to his innings, and will need to go on and score a big innings to help his team’s cause. Rishabh Pant will want to add another big score to the tally after a cheap run out in the previous innings in Pune.
Earlier in the day, India had seemed to be going well in response to New Zealand’s 235. Although Rohit Sharma continued to struggle against pace, falling to a steeply-rising length ball by Matt Henry, Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal steadied the ship, playing positive cricket and never letting the Kiwi spinners settle on a line or length against them. They looked set to head into stumps with their wickets intact, but it was maybe on shot too many by Jaiswal, whose attempted reverse-sweep saw him deceived by a quicker and flatter delivery by Ajaz Patel, his stumps knocked over behind him.
Mohammed Siraj was sent in as a night watchman, but lasted only one ball, caught LBW and burning a review as well in a puzzling decision. Virat Kohli didn’t last long either, as a misguided attempt at a single saw him caught well short of his ground in the last over of the day. Matt Henry hit bullseye from mid-on, taking away Kohli’s chance to get some runs behind his back in this crucial match. These three quick wickets despite a quick and strong start mean New Zealand will be the happier team, and sensing blood in the water before they come out to bowl in the morning.
The Kiwis themselves made the most of fairly difficult conditions, as a strong partnership between Will Young and Daryl Mitchell ensured that they continued to have runs on the board in this series. Akash Deep removed Devon Conway cheaply, before Washington Sundar dismissed Tom Latham and Rachin Ravindra with a pair of corkers any off-spinner would be proud of.
Ravindra Jadeja broke the partnership and made it two wickets in one over as he scalped Blundell. Jadeja went on to register his 14th Test five-fer, overtaking Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma in India’s Test wicket-takers list. Sundar continued his good form with a four-wicket haul, wrapping up the innings with the wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Ajaz Patel.
Highlights from India vs New Zealand 3rd Test Day 2:
– India started the day on 86/4 in 19 overs, with Shubman Gill on 31 and Rishabh Pant on one
– India lost three wickets in 10 minutes of madness at the end of the first day’s play
– New Zealand were all out for 235 runs with Ravindra Jadeja picking a five-wicket haul
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