The Kiwi spinners cast a web around the Indian middle-order to them reduced to 291 for 9 on the opening day of the first cricket Test against New Zealand.
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Ravindra Jadeja was on 16 and Umesh Yadav on eight for India, while New Zealand´s Mitchell Santner and Trent Boult have claimed three wickets each.
Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik presents a memento to Indian cricket team captain, Virat Kohli to mark the 500th cricket test of the Indian team in Kanpur on Thursday. They could expect a bit of help early on, with overcast conditions at the start of the Test match.
Nonetheless, given the quality of cricket on Day 1, New Zealand are now in a position where they must bat well when they get the opportunity or face a daunting fourth innings run chase. Wagner, who persisted with the short balls, silenced the crowd with a faster delivery that Kohli mishit to Ish Sodhi at square leg. Santner returned with the figures of 20-2-77-3, accounting for the wickets of three of India’s main batsmen – KL Rahul, Pujara and Rohit Sharma.
India played its inaugural Test in June 1932 against England at the iconic Lord’s ground.
Ajinkya Rahane (12) and Rohit Sharma (nought) will have a rebuilding job on their hands when they return following the break after a century stand between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara had boosted home hopes of a strong first innings total.
It was a day that belonged to New Zealand, who played with a lot of self belief and did not stray from their plans. Ravichandran Ashwin was well set before being dismissed to a brilliant delivery from Trent Boult.
Vijay preferred to play his shots from the backfoot against both Sodhi or Boult while Pujara was fantastic with his nimble footwork.
Electing to bat on Green Park’s typical hard, dry surface, India was hardly troubled by the Kiwi bowlers. But it was a lose stroke from Pujara that brought an end to their 112-run stand, and thus began a procession which the Indian team had not imagined. Ashwin did what he could do the best – when India had lost far too many wickets for a moderate score on board, the Indian all-rounder dropped anchor with Rohit and tried to stabilise the innings.
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New Zealand will be looking to bowl out India under 300 on second day of Kanpur Test. They went in with six batsmen, a keeper, and just the four bowlers, as they had done in their last Test match against West Indies in Port-of-Spain.
