Ravindra Jadeja was the first wicket to fall on Day Two of the second Test at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. India, counting on the pair of Jadeja and Wriddhiman Saha to take the score past 300, looked like they would fall short of the mark after the southpaw's dismissal.
However, Saha continued to torment the Kiwis hitting a crucial unbeaten knock of 54. He played some fearless cricket and pounced on an opportunity which allowed him to come out of his crease and attack the bowlers. In the process, he did take a few body blows before he started dispatching deliveries all around the field.
Saha was running out of partners with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar falling for 5 to Mitchell Santner leaving India at 281 for 9. In came Mohammed Shami, who tried to give most of the strike to Saha, fighting it out to take India to a respectable score. The last wicket partnership fetched 35 runs as India were bowled out for 316.
New Zealand got off the wrong foot with Shami bagging the wicket of Tom Latham on 1. Kumar joined him among the wickets in the next over by bowling Martin Guptill out for 13. Struggling at 21/2 at lunch, captain Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls need to build a partnership to stand a chance against a threatening Indian bowling attack.
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