After reassessing their options at lunch, India gave Ashwin a rest to start the second session as Jadeja was paired with Mohammed Shami, who bounded in in search of some reverse swing.
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There was not much cheer for Team India on Day 2 of the Kanpur Test. In the morning, when Virat Kohli won the toss and made a decision to bat, few expected New Zealand to put the home side on the back-foot.
New Zealand’s leg-spinner Ish Sodhi also played a key role, claiming the wicket of Vijay, who had notched up his 13th Test fifty, just before the tea break.
Most of the Indian batsmen fell to poor shots after misreading the turn or bounce of the ball rather than any top quality bowling by the visitors. “Both guys soaked that up really nicely throughout that partnership and whenever they got a scoring opportunity they made the most of it”. New Zealand had just broken a century stand between M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, and the opposition’s captain and best batsman had walked in to deafening noise.
Rahul, however, continued to target Boult, hitting a couple of consecutive boundaries off the pacer in the seventh over.
They were severe when the spinners dropped the ball short.
Rahul scored at a decent rate, posting 32 runs off 39 deliveries. Jadeja in particular was smashing sixes and fours.
Skipper Kane Williamson came to the crease and proved tougher to dislodge alongside watchful surviving opener Tom Latham, as both men recorded half-centuries. The right-hander, in his 19 Test matches, has only scored 981 runs, which is far less than what is expected from a batsman of his calibre.
The rest of the Kiwi bowlers toiled away without reward under hot and humid conditions.
When India bowled, Jadeja was introduced into the attack by Kohli as early as in the third over of the Kiwi innings but neither him nor Ashwin could get a wicket.
With the pitch deteriorating significantly from the opening day, but the turn being slow, there was a likelihood of them getting beaten often but equally there were chances of edges not carrying, especially with Williamson’s soft hands.
Santner rendered the tight field at his disposal ineffective when he offered width outside the offstump to Jadeja, who gladly accepted it and slapped the ball past point for the second boundary of the day.
The Green Park pitch here promises to be a spin-friendly wicket and the Indian tweakers will play a major role in the hosts’ ambition to become the top team. He tried to pull a bouncer from Wagner and ended up offering a catch at the square leg.
“I think Kane is leading the side very well”.
Ajinkya Rahane was out for 18 soon after tea, snared by Mark Craig, as India slumped to 209-5.
Rohit (35) and Ashwin (40) combined for a fighting 52run stand for the sixth wicket.
Wriddhiman Saha (0) and Ashwin soon went back in quick succession while Mohammed Shami’s (0) off-stump was uprooted by a lovely delivery from Boult.
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The first test between India and New Zealand began on September 22, 2016, at the Green Park Stadium, Kanpur.
