Rachin Ravindra and Ajaz Patel proved to be the heroes for New Zealand as they helped their team earn a draw against India in the first Test in Kanpur on Monday.
Needing nine wickets to win at the start of day five, India faced stern resistance from the New Zealand batters through the day as the match went down to the wire.
After Tom Latham and William Somerville batted out the opening session, India came back into the game after lunch before picking a flurry of wickets post tea. But the last-wicket partnership between Ravindra and Patel proved to be a bridge too far for India as the first Test ended in an enthralling draw.
Here’s a session-by-session recap of the day:
Morning session
The day started with KS Bharat continuing to keep wickets in place of the injured Wriddhiman Saha. The first ball of the day also saw Ishant Sharma suffer an injury on his left hand. He hurt his finger trying to stop a ball and had to go off, but returned soon after with his hand taped.
Ashwin Ravichandran and Umesh Yadav were accurate in the morning, but the freshly-rolled pitch and the new ball made life relatively comfortable for Tom Latham and William Somerville in the first hour.
India would’ve hoped to get rid of Somerville early but like he did in the first innings, the right-hander remained solid in defence. He was assured in his foot work and hardly ever looked hurried. The only time he looked a bit uncomfortable was when Ishant Sharma tested him with some short-pitched bowling, which is something India would go on to capitalise later.
Latham, at the other end, was as reliable as ever. The left-hander batted with a clear plan and great discipline in the first innings to score 95 runs. And it was more of the same on Monday. He avoided driving through cover and was quick to rock back if the spinners even pitched it on a good length.
It ended up being a dream session for New Zealand as they didn’t lose a single wicket. India still needed nine wickets to win and there was even talk of a New Zealand victory at this point. They needed 205 more runs on a pitch that did not have any demons.
At lunch: New Zealand were 79/1 in 35 overs.
In the session: 31 overs, 75 runs, 0 wickets.
Post-lunch session
The short-ball plan for Somerville paid off with the first ball after lunch, with Umesh banging it in from round the wicket and the right-hander going for the pull. The wicket belonged to Shubman Gill, though, who ran in from fine leg and put in a dive to complete a stunning catch.
Skipper Kane Williamson was the next batter and New Zealand went on to add another partnership. Williamson and Latham, possibly the best batters in the New Zealand team at the moment, looked in control for the most part.
The spell by Umesh was a test for Williamson, though. Umesh had gained confidence after removing Somerville and was exploiting the reverse swing on offer. He kept attacking the stumps and the highlight of his fiery spell was a beauty to Williamson that missed the off stump by a whisker.
Williamson and Latham’s time together at the crease also made it clear that New Zealand were not interested in going for the chase. The duo put the odd loose ball away but that was about it.
Then came a crucial moment in the day as Ashwin removed Latham against the run of play. It was a soft dismissal as the left-hander chopped on a delivery that was well outside off stump. This allowed India to get a look at the remaining middle order batters for New Zealand, none of whom were particularly high on confidence.
And at the stroke of tea, Ravindra Jadeja trapped the experienced Ross Taylor plumb in front. With one session to play, India were left six wickets away from a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. They believed.
At tea: New Zealand were 125/4 in 63.1 overs.
In the session: 28.1 overs, 46 runs, 3 wickets.
Post-tea session
If what happened in the first session of the day was entirely unexpected, the events in the final session followed a familiar script. India could sniff a win, the pitch had plenty of rough patches, the crowd was pumped, and the spinners went about doing their thing. However, there was one final bit of drama left for the end.
It started with the wicket of Henry Nicholls, who ended up with scores of 2 and 1 in the match. The left-hander was bowled by Axar Patel, leaving New Zealand with half their side back in the hut.
Then came the big wicket of Williamson. The New Zealand skipper had looked compact in defence up until then but decided to go back to a quick delivery from Jadeja, the ball skid on and he was trapped plumb in front.
India then took 20 overs to get the wickets of Tom Blundell, Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee. The pick of the bowlers for the hosts was Jadeja, who went on to finish with figures of 4/40.
India were left with about half an hour to remove either Rachin Ravindra or Ajaz Patel to seal the win. By then, the light had started to fade at the Green Park Stadium. But with just one wicket to get and the crowd behind them, it seemed India would close out another impressive victory at home.
The two left-handers, however, showed great composure and solid technique to keep the Indian spinners at bay and earn a draw for the visitors. Umpires Nitin Menon and Virendra Sharma were forced to check the light meter after every over as India were desperate for play to keep continuing. But it became dark enough eventually and the series remained at 0-0 heading into the second and final Test of the series in Mumbai. Patel (2 off 23 balls) and Ravindra (18 off 91 balls) consumed 8.4 overs after the fall of the ninth wicket to give New Zealand four crucial away points in the World Test Championships.
At stumps: New Zealand were 165/9 in 98 overs.
In the session: 34.5 overs, 40 runs, 5 wickets.
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