3rd Test
Day-1 Morning Session Highlights:
Washington Sundar’s twin strikes has break the NZ’s steady momentum in the morning session of Day-1
At The Lunch of Day-1:
New Zealand scored 92/3 (1st Innings) vs India.
Washington Sundar (2-26) bowled an incisive spell to keep India on even terms with New Zealand on the first morning of the third Test in Mumbai.
After opting to bat, New Zealand lost Devon Conway early, but Tom Latham (28) and Will Young (38*) steadied the innings with a 44-run stand for the second wicket.
The pair appeared comfortable until Sundar made his impact.
The off-spinner got straight to work, troubling both batters and eventually dismissing Latham before removing the dangerous Rachin Ravindra, providing India with much-needed breakthroughs.
Young, however, batted through with Daryl Mitchell, ensuring no further wickets fell.
With Jasprit Bumrah sidelined due to illness, the responsibility fell to Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep to make an early breakthrough.
Deep, in particular, was the more probing of the two, earning the reward when he trapped Conway LBW in the first half-hour of play.
The seamers found little assistance early on, but the moist conditions did offer slight movement off the pitch.
Latham and Young navigated through this phase and were relatively comfortable against the spin, with Ravichandran Ashwin failing to trouble the batters significantly.
Sundar, however, continued to impress, using his drift to challenge both batters.
He eventually bowled a beauty to dismiss Latham, who played down the wrong line, leaving his stumps disturbed.
A few overs later, Sundar struck again, getting Ravindra out with a delivery that drifted and straightened just enough to find the edge.
As the session progressed, the pitch began to offer more for the spinners.
Ravindra Jadeja also began to get some purchase, spinning the ball past the outside edge, signaling that the second session could prove challenging for the New Zealand batters.
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