Very much uncharacteristically, a Test match at the Green Park, Kanpur, was taken to the final over of the fifth day and eventually ended in a draw. The venue has a good recent record of suiting the spinners a bit too much, thus reflecting poorly on its sporting nature as the games would finish inside 3 or 4 days.
However, there was decent purchase for spinners on the track this time, but not so much that the batters would find it unplayable. Both the home and away sides got rewards with the bat when they showed their perseverance, and it turned out to be one memorable Test match.
For putting up a track, which was so good for a game of cricket, Rahul Dravid had rewarded the groundsmen involved with INR 35,000, and he did so personally. The news was announced by Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association in the press box.
Indian tracks have been under severe criticism in recent years for their unpreparedness, eventually leading to games finishing way sooner than what’s good for the sport. The Ahmedabad Tests against England earlier this year finished in two days and three days, which doesn’t make the format marketable.
India and New Zealand played out a sensational draw eventually, where Rachin Ravindra provided a stellar show of grit on debut to help his team sneak a draw out of nothing. NZ needed 280 runs to reach their target on the final day and the Men in Blue needed nine wickets.
The early parts of the day were seen off well by the night-watch William Somerville and Tom Latham. They batted an entire session before without losing a wicket in the morning, and despite their dismissal early on in the second session, their batters in the lower order made some vital contributions in terms of facing a lot of deliveries.
India failed to find the final wicket, with Ravindra and Ajaz Patel seeing off the final seven overs. Shreyas Iyer was named player of the match for his spectacular effort, scoring 170 runs across both innings.
