New Delhi: Team India were set for a target of 359 in the second Test after senior spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed the lower-middle order of New Zealand on the morning of the third day at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
Resuming the day with their overnight score of 198 for 5 with a heavy lead of 301 runs in store, Glenn Phillips got into the act of adding the runs by finding through the gaps. He hit Ashwin for two boundaries in the second over of the day before cutting one past backward point for a brilliant boundary.
Just after hitting Jadeja for his first boundary of the day, Tom Blundell was cleaned up by the veteran Indian all-rounder. The left-arm spinner later got the better of his counterpart Mitchell Santner before Ashwin got Southee caught in the slip cordon by Rohit Sharma as the tourist lost three wickets in succession.
Ajaz Patel was the next man to walk back to the pavilion with a contribution of 1 run after attempting to heave against Jadeja only for Washington Sundar to make a smart judgement at the midwicket boundary. Glenn Phillips launched a couple of sixes – one each against Ashwin and Jadeja – to take New Zealand’s lead past 350.
In a dire need to retain the strike, Phillips, after hitting towards the sweeper cover region off Jadeja, called for a couple of runs while batting with last batter William O’Rourke. The throw from the fielder, effortlessly, deflected Jadeja’s hands before crashing onto the stumps as O’Rourke was found short of his crease at the non-striker’s end. Eventually, New Zealand were bowled out for 255, leaving India to chase a huge target of 359.
India to chase 300-plus score to break and repeat milestones
The last time India chased a 300-plus score in Tests at home was in the 2008 Chennai Test when they achieved the arduous 387. This is the only instance for the Asian giants to chase more than 300 in Test cricket. India have been set totals over 300 on home soil on 26 occasions, wherein they have won just once, lost 14 times, involved in one tie and nine matches ended in a draw.
The highest score chased against New Zealand in the fourth innings of a Test match was by West Indies, achieving the target of 345 in Auckland in 1969. India can break this herculean feat if they get past the finishing line in Pune.
