 "IND vs NZ: Spinners bamboozle Kiwis once again as India boost hopes of consolation win on Day 2 in Mumbai")
India gave themselves at shot at pulling off a consolation victory in the third and final Test against New Zealand in Mumbai by collecting a slender first innings lead on Saturday and later producing a clinical bowling performance against the Black Caps. Resuming from their overnight score of 86/4, India rode on half-centuries from Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60) to post a score of 263 that gave them a 28-run first innings lead – the first time they were ahead of the Kiwis at the halfway stage of a match in this series.
The Indian spinners would then bamboozle the Kiwi batters for the second time in as many days with Ravindra Jadeja once again headlining India’s tidy bowling performance. Jadeja ended the day with figures of 4/52, castling Matt Henry at the stroke of stumps as New Zealand ended Day 2 of the third Test on 171/9, leading by 143 runs with just one wicket in hand.
Jadeja, Ashwin bamboozle Kiwis
Jadeja had collected 5/65 on Friday with off-spinner Washington Sundar collecting 4 for 81 as India bowled New Zealand out for 235 – the first time the Black Caps had failed to cross 250 in a completed innings in the ongoing series.
On Day 2, Jadeja joined forces with another off-spinner – the veteran Ravichandran Ashwin, who ended the day with 3/63 that included the crucial wickets of Will Young (51) and Rachin Ravindra (4).
Young had scored 71 in the first innings after New Zealand opted to bat on Day 1 and brought up his second consecutive half-century on Day 2. The 31-year-old also added 50 for the fourth wicket with all-rounder Daryl Mitchell, helping the Kiwis recover from the early dismissal of skipper Tom Latham, who was castled by Akash Deep in the first over, as well as the dismissals of Devon Conway (22) and Ravindra in quick succession.
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The pair had added 87 for the fourth wicket on Day 1 and were proving to be a key threat for the Rohit Sharma-led hosts once again when Ashwin collected a superb running catch off Jadeja’s bowling to dismiss Mitchell. Wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell would register a second failure in as many days, chopping the ball onto the stumps to depart for 4 as New Zealand lost half their side with 100 on the board.
Glenn Phillips attempted to put the Indians under pressure with a Bazball-inspired innings of 26 off just 14 deliveries that contained three sixes and a four. Phillips’ carnage was starting to hurt India’s cause and could allowed the Kiwis yet another day in what has been a historic tour of India so far in an advantageous position.
Phillips would smash two of those sixes in Ashwin’s 12th over before getting hoodwinked by a carrom ball that turned away from the bat and crashed into the off stump after pitching along middle and leg. Ish Sodhi and Young would then join Phillips in the dressing room shortly before stumps, the latter chipping the ball back to Ashwin, once again off a carrom delivery.
Gill, Pant and Sundar hand India a slender lead
Earlier in the day, a solid fifth-wicket partnership between Pant and Gill as well as an unbeaten knock of 38 from Washington Sundar allowed the hosts to recover from mini-collapses to surge past New Zealand’s first innings total.
Pant set the tone in the very first over of the day by smashing three fours in four balls off Ajaz Patel’s bowling. While Gill was happy to bat cautiously at the other end, Pant continued to collect boundaries at regular intervals, not allowing the Kiwi pacers and spinners to settle into a nice rhythm and dictate terms.
While Gill brought up his seventh Test fifty in 66 deliveries, Pant brought up his milestone in just 36 balls – registering the fastest Test half-century by an Indian against New Zealand. The two would also benefit from dropped catches, both off Phillips’ bowling with substitute fielder Mark Chapman spilling a chance at long off when Gill was on 45.
Pant’s dismissal shortly before tea, however, marked the beginning of another mini collapse, and by the time Gill was caught at slip off Patel’s bowling, India were trailing New Zealand by 8 runs with just two wickets in hand.
Sundar, who had struck a majestic century in the Ranji Trophy before joining the Indian squad in Pune, struck four fours and two sixes and remained unbeaten on 38 off 36 balls to ensure the hosts collected a slender advantage at the end of their first innings.
Had it not been for Akash Deep getting needlessly run-out while pushing for a risky second, Sundar might even have brought up his fifty and got India close to, or even past 300.
Mumbai-born left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers with figures of 5/103, collecting his sixth Test five-for nearly three years after his historic 10-wicket innings haul at the same venue.
Having already conceded an unassailable 0-2 lead to the Latham-led Black Caps following defeats in Bengaluru and Pune, India will be aiming to keep their hopes of qualifying for a third consecutive ICC World Tets Championship final alive with a consolation victory in Mumbai.
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