New Delhi: In a must-win situation, Team India had a decent start in the third Test against New Zealand on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Riding on the success of winning the Test series in Pune, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first.
The hosts India made a solitary change with frontline pacer Mohammed Siraj coming in the playing XI in place of Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the match. New Zealand, on other hand, made a couple of changes as Matt Henry and Ish Sodhi replaced Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner, respectively.
New Zealand were bowled out for a sub par 235 in the first innings after the Indian spinners dictated the terms. Daryl Mitchell (82) and Will Young (71) played determined knocks before the Black Caps stuttered on their way, perhaps complacency entered the room with the series already in the pocket.
India finished the day at 86 for 4 after 19 overs with 149 runs still behind to take the lead in the first innings. The final Test also gives the impression that this match won’t last for five days just like the second Test. Let’s look at the major talking points which were instrumental in deciding how the first day ended as.
Indian spinners inspire New Zealand collapse
Washington Sundar continued his brilliance with the ball after being called up in the Pune Test. Just after New Zealand captain Tom Latham promised to stitch a key stand with Will Young, Sundar got the breakthrough for India and followed with the dismissal of the in-form Rachin Ravindra.
Senior man Ravindra Jadeja got into the act to break the 87-run stand between Daryl Mitchell and Will Young for the fourth wicket. That was the turning point for the hosts to stamp their authority with New Zealand lacking the vigour in their lower-middle order to put big partnerships.
Jadeja removed Tom Blundell and Glenn Philiips before the tea session. He later trapped Ish Sodhi for leg-before-wicket and cleaned up Matt Henry to complete his 14th fifer in Tests. Washington Sundar got rid of Mitchell’s late threat before getting the better of Ajaz Patel as the two spinners combined for nine dismissals.
Earlier in the day, Akash Deep removed New Zealand opener Devon Conway after New Zealand opted to bat first.
Rohit, Virat fail to notch big knocks
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma played a few delighted cover drives in front of his home crowd at the Wankhede Stadium. While Jaiswal struggled to score runs in the early part of the innings, Rohit was seen charging against the pacers Matt Henry and William O’Rourke, though he was dropped by the latter near the boundary in the fifth over.
Rohit couldn’t carry his momentum for a longer run after an extra bounce from Henry got the splice off the bat and the ball flew to his counterpart Tom Latham at the second slip.
Virat Kohli’s entry on the pitch was delayed after Mohammed Siraj was send as a nightwatchman but was dismissed on the first ball. He whipped Rachind Ravindra’s full-toss past the mid-wicket for a boundary to get off the mark. The clueless running between the wickets couple with laxity once again haunted the star Indian batter.
In the second innings of Pune Test, Kohli ended up costing Rishabh Pant’s dismissal with his desperate call. Today, it was a reckless move to run without understanding the ball’s position. He hit Ravindra’s flighted delivery near the mid-on and quickly asked for a single, but a pin-point throw from Henry was enough to send Kohli packing as he was miles away from his crease despite a late diving effort.
India need big partnership from middle order to take heavy lead
India will need the likes of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan to step up and make the big runs in a bid to post a substantial lead. Another batting crumble, as seen in Bengaluru and Pune, will only add to their inefficacy to construct partnerships this series. More than avoiding a whitewash, winning this match is of utmost importance as India wish to keep their hopes for World Test Championship final alive. New Zealand can never be kept out of the game, though India had an edge on the first day.
