On a heartbreaking day for India, the hosts lost their position of strength with the bat to end with a slightly under par score and then went through two sessions of toil with the ball without a breakthrough in the first Test of the two-match series versus New Zealand in Kanpur .
India went from 258/4 at the resumption of play in the morning to be 345 all out, only to see the Black Caps pile on their frustration by reaching 129 without a wicket at the close of play in the evening.
It started with an incredible spell from Tim Southee (5/69), who singlehandedly kept his team in the game, adding four wickets to his overnight tally of one in the morning session. The experienced pacer bowled unchanged from an end and left India fighting hard for each and every run.
In his opening burst, he dismissed well-set batters Ravindra Jadeja (50) and Shreyas Iyer (105), also getting the better of Wriddhiman Saha (1) and Axar Patel (3).
Southee’s excellent performance and five-fer gave New Zealand a position of strength in the game, with India then requiring a resilient knock of 38 from Ravichandran Ashwin to move past the 300-mark. Post lunch, left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel also got amongst the wickets, and India finished with 345, when they were expected to get 400 and beyond.
On a surface offering uneven bounce but slow turn, India were still expected to build inroads into the Kiwi batting line-up. However, what followed were two sessions of hard grind for Indian bowlers and disappointment, as touring openers Tom Latham (50*) and Will Young (75*) showed ample resistance with a bit of luck going their way.
The two openers stitched together an exemplary stand of 129 runs over 57 overs, keeping India’s spin trio of Jadeja (0/28), Ashwin (0/38) and Axar (0/26) at bay. India had their moments – Latham was thrice reprieved on the DRS – but a wicket remained a distant friend for the hosts throughout the final two sessions.
With the track expected to worsen for batting on the last three days, a first-innings lead of 60-70, either way, could prove to be decisive in Kanpur.
Brief scores
New Zealand 129/0 in 57 overs (Young 75, Latham 50; Sharma 0/10) trail India 345 all out in 111.1 overs (Iyer 105, Gill 52; Southee 5/69) by 216 runs
