2nd Test
Day-1 Afternoon Session Highlights:
Sundar’s twin fifties has evened out the contributions of Conway and Ravindra
At The Tea of Day-1:
New Zealand scored 201/5 (1st Innings) vs India
Washington Sundar made a significant impact late in the second session, taking two crucial wickets to leave New Zealand at 201 for 5.
His strikes undid the efforts of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, both of whom had scored half-centuries and helped the visitors maintain a steady position against a relentless Indian attack that combined pace and spin.
The pitch offered limited assistance to bowlers, presenting only some early movement for the pacers and occasional turn for the spinners.
New Zealand’s innings began with a fortunate edge that raced to the boundary, allowing them to build momentum.
They relied heavily on exploiting the bowlers’ line errors to keep the score ticking.
R Ashwin, introduced in the eighth over, made an early breakthrough by trapping Tom Latham leg before wicket.
This dismissal hinted at a potential test for the New Zealand batters against spin.
However, the slow nature of the pitch forced the spinners to bowl at higher speeds, with all three—Ashwin, Sundar, and Ravindra Jadeja—averaging over 90 km/h.
Despite beating the batters and occasionally hitting their pads, serious threats to their wickets were few.
The only other wicket to fall in the morning was Will Young, who edged a delivery down the leg side to the keeper.
New Zealand adopted a more aggressive strategy in the second session, with Conway striking a cover drive off Jasprit Bumrah for a boundary to reach his half-century.
He followed it with several more boundaries, helping the team surpass the 100-run mark.
Though they were cautious overall, Conway occasionally employed the reverse sweep, even executing one off Sundar for four.
It appeared the batters were in control until Conway chased a half-tracker from Ashwin, edging it to the keeper for a score of 77.
Ashwin and Jadeja then bowled slightly slower, extracting more grip and turn, which unsettled the New Zealand batters.
Despite their apparent discomfort, Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell built a 59-run partnership.
However, in a dramatic turn of events in the final moments of the session, Washington Sundar returned to claim two wickets in quick succession.
Ravindra, who had seemed comfortable and even hit Jadeja for a six, was caught off guard and bowled by Sundar.
Just two overs later, Tom Blundell was bowled, leading New Zealand to slide from 197 for 3 to 201 for 5.
Notably, all five wickets to fall came from the Pavilion End, all at the hands of the off-spinning duo, shifting the momentum firmly in India’s favor.
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