At stumps on day four, New Zealand are 93 for four after India set a target of 434 for them.
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Luke Ronchi (38 batting, 58b, 4×4, 1×6) and Mitchell Santner (8 batting, 50b) will return Monday hoping to resist or at least delay India’s victory march in the first match of the three-Test series. Coming back for a second run to Luke Ronchi, he failed to ground his bat in his crease and was run out by Umesh Yadav’s direct hit from deep mid wicket.
Home skipper Virat Kohli predictably began with spin from both ends but the batsmen mixed caution with aggression to defy their hosts for 20 overs.
Left-armer Santner trapped Murali Vijay leg before wicket for 76, ending the right-hander’s stand with Cheteshwar Pujara (78).
The ball pitched outside leg, Pujara tried to defend but it turned sharply, took an edge and went straight to Ross Taylor, who took a low catch.
Ajinkya Rahane’s (40) cameo and the unbroken century stand between Sharma and Jadeja, however, ensured New Zealand will have to post the highest fourth innings total in test history for an improbable victory. Ashwin then made it two wickets in five balls in the fourth over, trapping Tom Latham (2) lbw. He enjoys a superb record in Tests on Indian soil – his tally being 1621 in 18 Tests (29 innings) at an average of 64.84, including five hundreds.
India team-mates rush to Ravi Ashwin to celebrate his 200th test wicket, the dismissal of Kane Williamson.
“Kane Williamson in this test match in the first inning I thought was a very, very good ball”.
New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was his 200th victim in his 37th Test match, as he overtook compatriot Harbhajan Singh (46), but remained behind Australian Clarrie Grimmett (36). “Ever since I came back from Australia previous year, and went to Bangladesh I think that’s when I really started enjoying my bowling”. Sometimes when you are challenged by the opposition it is really good, for example Williamson batted really well, Ross Taylor was getting outside the line, they were trying to challenge me today.
However, credit needs to be given to the spinners who came back strongly on the third day, after a bad second day’s play.
Craig, who overall hadn’t been able to string the dots together, produced a handy display too, his 11 overs before lunch costing 27, but he did nail his 50th test wicket in his 15th match. Soon Bredley Walting (21) was caught and bowled by Ashwin and the New Zealand innings folded at 262.
The nine wickets the Indian duo claimed in New Zealand’s dramatic day three collapse and the three Ashwin added on the fourth afternoon are enough evidence of that.
“We made some adjustments”. The longer New Zealand could keep India batting to get to that objective, the less time they’d have to bat last night.
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Rohit and Jadeja played in contrasting fashion with the left-hander being more aggressive even as they scored 125 runs in the second session after Rahane was trapped by Santner.
