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Not a lot of the proceedings went as per plan for India on day 1 of the 1st Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, but they finished on a high. It seemed like the Kiwi seamers may have deterred the inexperienced Indian line-up’s confidence, but debutant Shreyas Iyer delivered a top performance under pressure to negate any possible danger.
Ajinkya Rahane won the battle of coin earlier in the day and decided to bat first. Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee produced a brilliant spell of bowling with the new ball, with both seamers hitting the same channel consistently and troubling the Indian openers.
They got the first scalp in Mayank Agarwal almost immediately, with Jamieson trapping the Karnataka-based batter with a brilliant away swinger. He kept probing around that fourth stump line and finally induced an outside edge and walked back.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill consolidated the proceedings post that. The latter chipped in with some beautiful shots on the up and got the scorecard ticking. Before heading to the lunch break, the 22-year-old opener completed his fourth half-century in Test matches but was dismissed right on the other side of the break without adding any score in the second session.
It was Jamieson once again who got his scalp with an in-swinger this time. He made the young batter come forward with a defensive stroke and brilliantly exploited the bat and pad gap to rattle his stumps.
Tim Southee joined the act a few overs after that and managed to induce an edge off Pujara, who was threatening to build a wall. Even Pujara was attempting to defend the ball off the frontfoot but this one was a bit too wide from the stumps and could’ve been left.
Ajinkya Rahane walked in at number four after Gill was dismissed and got a decent start. He survived a major scare courtesy DRS when Jamieson’s down-the-leg delivery nicked his trousers, and umpire Nitin Menon adjudged him caught behind. The Indian skipper reviewed the decision and managed to live on, but not for long.
The very next delivery, Jamieson pitched it wide outside off, and the ball kept low. Rahane, who instinctively went for a cut, was puzzled with the low bounce and chopped it onto the stumps. At 145/4 with nearly a session-and-a-half left to play, it seemed like the Kiwis will bowl out India on day 1, but in walked Ravindra Jadeja to accompany Shreyas Iyer.
Half-centuries for Jadeja, Iyer helps India finish on high
Ravindra Jadeja has been in good form with the bat over the last couple of years, averaging more than most top order batters in the side. He was once again in the middle during a troublesome time and got into the consolidation act alongside Iyer.
The duo saw out the final few overs of the second session and started the third on a flying note, taking on both Ajaz Patel and William Somerville. Both these spinners found it difficult to control the flow of runs, and Rachin Ravindra, who bowled seven overs in the day, was ineffective as well.
A lot of credit must be given to the debutant, who carried himself with great composure and presence of mind. When the going got tough, he managed to hold things together at one end. When there was an opportunity to attack, he backed himself to the end of the world and scored vital runs at a rapid pace.
He completed his half-century in the 68th over with a single off Southee, and continued to build on the momentum. Ravindra Jadeja approached the innings similarly, starting on a cautious note and later upping the ante.
New Zealand waited a while for the new ball to arrive, but when it finally came, the lighting around the stadium dimmed, and they could not get as many overs with it as they would’ve liked. Just before the day was called off six overs before the usual time, Ravindra Jadeja got to his 17th half-century in Test cricket.
India finished the day at 258 runs for the loss of four wickets. Iyer remained unbeaten on 75, whilst Jadeja will be starting on 50 the next morning. India are currently maintaining a healthy scoring rate of 3.07, and will have to face some tough music early on Friday.
Brief scores
India 1st innings: 258/4 in 84 overs (Iyer 75*, Gill 52, Jadeja 50*; Jamieson 3/47)
