3rd Test
Day-2 Afternoon Session Highlights:
Ajaz Patel’s five-wicket haul has brought the game into the balance
At The Tea of Day-2:
New Zealand scored 235 (1st Innings) and 26/1 (2nd Innings), where as India scored 263 (1st Innings).
So, finally New Zealand trail by 2 runs.
New Zealand mounted a strong fightback through Ajaz Patel (5-103), whose sixth five-wicket haul in Tests derailed India’s push for a substantial first innings lead on the second day of the final Test in Mumbai.
Shubman Gill (90) stood firm, battling on alone as wickets tumbled around him.
However, Washington Sundar (38*) played a crucial cameo to ensure India gained a modest first innings lead of 28 runs.
At lunch, New Zealand would have gladly accepted being only 28 runs behind, especially with their batters already having reduced the deficit by 26 runs for the loss of Tom Latham.
With up to ten sessions of play remaining, the game is delicately poised.
Resuming the session at 195/5, India found themselves tied down by some disciplined and accurate bowling from New Zealand.
There were few easy runs on offer, and Ravindra Jadeja’s defensive approach ultimately cost him his wicket.
He lunged forward at a sharply turning off-break from Glenn Phillips, and the ball went straight to Daryl Mitchell at first slip.
In the very next over, Sarfaraz Khan was dismissed for a duck, undone by a beauty from Ajaz that spun away sharply with steep bounce, taking the edge.
The double strike left Shubman Gill with the task of holding the innings together.
He batted fluently, scoring at a steady pace, occasionally finding the boundary.
However, he fell just short of a well-deserved century, as Ajaz’s consistent accuracy earned him yet another scalp.
It was a typical left-arm spinner’s dismissal, with Gill’s soft defence finding the edge, and Mitchell once again completing the catch at slip.
India did manage to gain a slender lead thanks to Sundar’s timely contribution, but Ravichandran Ashwin fell shortly after, dismissed in a similar fashion to Gill and Jadeja, as Ajaz claimed his fifth wicket.
Sundar continued to strike a few blows, pushing India’s lead past the 25-run mark, but a misjudgment from Akash Deep led to a run out, ending India’s innings.
In the second innings, Akash Deep made an early impact by cleaning up Tom Latham with a nip-backer, giving India the perfect start.
However, Devon Conway and Will Young batted carefully, ensuring that New Zealand came closer to erasing the deficit, with the match still finely balanced.
Leave a Reply