Pant leads the way with an entertaining knock, while Gill is unlucky to miss his hundred; Ajaz once again excels in Mumbai with a five-for to keep the Kiwis in the hunt on a turning track turning hostile for the batters with each passing hour; NZ ahead by 143 with a wicket in hand
84.1 overs. 348 runs. 15 wickets.
More than 19,500 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium had their money’s worth on a super Saturday as the final Test of India’s home season was tantalisingly poised.
Rishabh Pant’s early onslaught and Shubman Gill’s sensible innings meant India overhauled New Zealand’s 235. But Ajaz Patel’s five-wicket haul meant New Zealand remained in the hunt by restricting the lead to 28 on a spinning track that was turning hostile for batters with each passing hour.
Will Young and Daryl Mitchell then played the conditions and the Indian spin trio to near perfection for the second consecutive day to avoid a Kiwi collapse. Despite R. Ashwin pulling off a stunning catch to break the partnership and then bowling a dream carrom ball to send the dangerous-looking Glenn Phillips’s back, New Zealand finished Day Two of the third Test at 171 for nine.
A lead of 143 — with last man Will O’Rourke set to join Ajaz at the crease —could well be enough for New Zealand to complete a historic clean-sweep. India will need either Pant or one of the top-order batters to repeat the wicketkeeper’s heroics of Saturday morning.
Pant made his intentions clear off the first two balls of the day when he drove straight past the left-arm spinner Ajaz for consecutive boundaries. A streaky boundary through slips two balls later notwithstanding, the Pant onslaught persisted for the first hour.
Despite being dropped by substitute Mark Chap man off Glenn Phillips — the offie was unlucky to also see Gill dropped in the deep by Matt Henry a few minutes later — Pant continued to hammer Ajaz.
The fact that 33 of his 60 runs came off Ajaz — and included five fours and two huge sixes — underlines how he targeted the left-arm spinner.
But Pant missed the turn while playing leggie Ish Sodhi on the backfoot and was ruled leg before, and the 96-run association off just 114 balls was broken. India’s decision to juggle the batting order — preferring Ravindra Jadeja ahead of Sarfaraz Khan — didn’t pay dividends.
Cameo
But Washington Sundar’s cameo — with him making optimum use of batting with the turn — meant India surged ahead though Gill missed a deserving hundred, nicking Ajaz to Mitchell at slip.
When the Kiwi second innings began, Akash Deep uprooted Tom Latham’s woodwork with a fuller one that jagged back in. Washington then turned one in sharply for Devon Conway, the other opener, to nick to Gill at gully. When Rachin Ravindra’s premeditated stepping-out swat off Ashwin resulted in him being stumped, New Zealand was in danger at 44 for three, with a lead of 16.
Mitchell and Young then bailed the team out yet again. Young, especially, looked assured with his footwork and shot-selection against the spin. Just when they were threatening to take the game away, Mitchell stepped out in Jadeja’s first over and topedged one that appeared to be sailing over Ashwin at mid-on.
However, Ashwin ran backwards, kept his eyes on the ball, and plunged behind to take a sensational catch with his teammates going as berserk as the stands. Despite Phillips’ cameo, the wickets kept tumbling thereafter as Jadeja proved too hot to handle for the Kiwi lower-order.