 "India achieve a first in ongoing Test series against NZ as Ajaz Patel shines once again in hometown")
India managed to collect a first innings lead for the first time in the ongoing Test series against New Zealand while left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel shone yet again in his hometown with a five-for on Saturday. Propelled by half-centuries from Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60) along with a handy 38 not out by Washington Sundar, India posted 263 on the board on Day 2 of the third Test at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, collecting a slender 28-run lead in the process.
Patel, meanwhile, was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers with figures of 5/103 – collecting his sixth Test five-for in the process. His latest five-for came three years after he made history at this very venue by becoming only the third bowler in Test history to collect all 10 wickets in an innings.
Ajaz Patel x Wankhede Stadium #INDvNZ #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/k8wVBDUEz3
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 2, 2024
New Zealand would nearly eclipse the deficit in the remainder of the session on Day 2 as their score read 26/1 at tea, losing the wicket of skipper Tom Latham in the very first over of their second innings.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsPant got the hosts off to a fiery start on Saturday with a flurry of boundaries after India resumed from their overnight score of 86/4, and ended up adding 96 for the fifth wicket with Gill, putting the hosts in an ideal position to collect a sizeable lead.
Both Gill and Pant had also been handed lifelines in the form of dropped catches, the former on 45 by substitute fielder Mark Chapman. The Indian No 3 would go on to add another 45 to his score before falling short of his sixth Test hundred by just 10 runs after nicking the ball to Daryl Mitchell at slip off Patel’s bowling.
Pant, meanwhile, was trapped leg-before off Ish Sodhi’s bowling shortly after completing his half-century in just 36 deliveries as New Zealand broke the fifth-wicket partnership before lunch to ensure the hosts did not bat through the morning session without losing a wicket.
Glenn Phillips and Patel would then strike in consecutive overs early in the second session, dismissing Ravindra Jadeja (14) and Sarfaraz Khan (0) respectively, the latter departing for a four-ball duck with his father Naushad and brother Musheer in attendance at the iconic venue.
Had it not been for Sundar’s handy contribution down the order, which contained four fours and two sixes, India might have conceded a first innings lead to the Latham-led Black Caps for the third time in as many matches in the ongoing series.
Sundar Smash 💥
— JioHotstar Reality (@HotstarReality) November 2, 2024
Watch #TeamIndia edge ahead on Day 2 of the 3rd #INDvNZ Test, LIVE on #JioCinema, #Sports18 and #ColorsCineplex 👈#IDFCFirstBankTestTrophy #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/Ihtq8sVBwX
New Zealand had collected a mammoth 356-run lead in Bengaluru after bowling India out for meagre 46 and posting 402 in reply. The Kiwis would then collect a crucial 103-run lead in the second Test in Pune as Mitchell Santner’s 7/53 helped them bowl India out for 156 in response to their first innings score of 259.
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