“He was their main batsman and could have played for a long time”. Hit the leg and you’re out. The move paid off as both spinners drew sufficient bite from the pitch to trouble the well-set New Zealand duo. Six specialist batsmen seems like overkill, especially when Ashwin at No 7 and Wriddhiman Saha at No 8 both made centuries in the Caribbean.
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India looked to cash in as the tourists searched for answers against spin. With New Zealand innings ending on 262, India secured a valuable lead of 56 runs. They had lost 5 wickets for five runs against Sri Lanka in Colomo (PSS). But the most crucial phase was the remaining 47 overs of the day, when India punished the visiting attack to race to 159 for the loss of just one wicket. That assault saw India race away with the lead. India are 52 for 1 in 18.1 overs in thier second innings (LokeshRahul 38, Murali Vijay 14 batting). However TV replays suggested the ball could have drifted down the leg side. On a pitch where Ashwin and Jadeja were causing all kinds of problems, India’s batsmen had shone an unforgiving light on the inadequacies of New Zealand’s spinners.
“Batsmen who are not familiar with Indian or Asian conditions often can not make up their mind which ball to defend and which one to attack”, Jadeja said.
How was Jadeja bowling well on helpful pitches?
The Indians too had faltered in their first innings from being 154 for one to be 318 all out. It was just the fifth over of the morning but the sluice gates had been opened. The ball went with the arm, and Richard Kettleborough did not hesitate to uphold Jadeja’s lbw appeal.
Early on Saturday, Ashwin put his hand up. “It was a very good Test match day for us”.
New Zealand resumed on the overnight score of 152 for one. The only difference being that the batsmen here were being forced out. The series has embarked India’s long Test season wherein they are slated to play 13 Tests apart from some matches in the shorter formats as well. The 151-ball vigil ended at 58.
With Ronchi gone in the 80 over, India took the new ball at the first opportunity, and Ashwin, after Mohammed Shami’s first over came to nought, expectedly, was given a crack with the shiny cherry. Today, they began by bowling four consecutive maidens.
Ravindra Jadeja celebrates taking the wicket of Luke Ronchi in the first innings of the first test, in Kanpur. “We have to find a way to deal with those good balls”. All it needed was for the Williamson-Latham stand to break.
“They [umpires Richard Kettleborough and Rod Tucker] have to make a call”.
BJ Watling was last man out, caught and bowled by Ashwin, before India built a platform and then upped the tempo after tea to continue their dominance.
“That’s part of playing in India”. First, they lost three wickets in 23 balls at the start of the morning session.
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1 – Only once have New Zealand successfully chased a total in excess of 200 in the fourth innings. How the wickets finally fell mattered little, it could have come either way, LBW, stumped or caught and bowled. The first ball of that wonderful over was a dot, then two wickets in two balls, two more dots and another wicket to finish the over off.
