“They batted well. Both Pujara and Vijay were quite positive”.
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However, it also explains a way through which the fielder can take the wicket of the batsman if such an instance happens.
A 1-1 series draw will result in India dropping to the fourth position on 108 points and New Zealand rising to fifth on 97 points. He nearly got Latham on a full toss, which the batsman missed and was struck on the pads, but umpire shot down the desperate vociferous appeal for LBW.
New Zealand’s only wicket came in the last over before tea, when KL Rahul late-cut Sodhi straight into slip’s hands.
They were severe when the spinners dropped the ball short.
In the batting department, the Kiwi batsmen did not step up to the occasion as Martin Guptill, one of their best batsmen in recent times, lasted a mere 21 balls in his two innings.
The two teams’ first innings nearly mirrored each other.
He cracked three fours and one six before departing after a knock that was a microcosm of his test career.
He is expected to be fit for the second Test, beginning on September 30 in Kolkata, hence New Zealand have opted not to name any replacements. India have already lost the advantage of winning the toss.
Three overs later, New Zealand felt the full force of Jadeja. Santner first struck by removing Rohit and that opened the gates for New Zealand.
Going by the spin-heavy conditions, Kohli will have no hesitation in going in with his spin trio – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra.
Latham completed his eighth Test fifty in the next over by guiding a Ashwin delivery to covers for a couple.
Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma too failed to make big contributions.
The ball moved very slightly after pitching around the off-stump before hitting Guptill’s pads in plumb in front of the middle stump. The ball went with the arm, and Richard Kettleborough did not hesitate to uphold Jadeja’s lbw appeal. Mostly pitching up, Latham had no problem to go down on one knee and sweep the ball behind square and earned almost half of his runs towards that region. But in the half-hour or so before tea, the ball had begun spitting and hissing with greater frequency.
He made another promising start in his 19th on Friday, scoring 35 before he tried to hit off-spinner Mitchell Santner over the top and was caught at mid-on.
Williamson swept Ashwin often and also stayed on the backfoot, waiting for the balls to decide his stroke.
“You just have find a pace that’s suitable to the wicket”. But things changed drastically when New Zealand opted for new ball.
They brought up their individual fifties in successive overs before Santner had Pujara popping a simple return catch.
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Ronchi was the batsman dismissed, and India would have been relieved to see him walk back. Unfortunately for New Zealand, all three went against them. It was one of those errors that slow-motion replays tend to magnify.
