After being bowled out for their lowest total of 46 runs at home, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team was inflicted with another unwanted feat as New Zealand batters ran riot in Bengaluru. After bundling out India for an under-50 team total, New Zealand batters went on a rampant run in the first innings, with Rachin Ravindra scoring a century. Rachin remained key to New Zealand’s plans of winning the match, as the tourists’ lead crossed the 200-run mark against the Indians on Day 3 (Friday). 

It’s the first time since 2012 that a visiting team had taken a lead of over 200 runs against the Indians in the first innings. The last time it happened was in 2012 when England beat India in the Kolkata Test.

It is also only the fourth occasion in India’s Test history that the team has conceded a 200+ lead at home while batting first. The previous Instances were:

– 418 vs SA, Ahmedabad, 2008 (lost)

– 334 vs SL, Ahmedabad, 2009 (draw)

– 207 vs ENG, Eden Gardens, 2012 (lost)

At the end of the first session, New Zealand posted 345/7 in 81 overs, with Ravindra and Southee unbeaten with scores of 104(125) and 49(50), respectively. New Zealand went to Lunch with a healthy lead of 299 runs.

It all started with Mohammed Siraj opening the floodgates and paving the way for a comeback for India. Daryl Mitchell tried to punch the ball away but only managed to get a thick outside edge, which was comfortably taken by Yashasvi Jaiswal at the gully.

While completing the catch, Jaiswal ended up hurting himself and got a bandage on his injured hand.

Jasprit Bumrah capitalised on the momentum and removed Tom Blundell before he could get a grasp of the surface. While struggling to pick Bumrah’s length, Blundell couldn’t make up his mind to go forward or move backwards. He tried to cushion the ball away and ended up knicking to KL Rahul at the second slip.

After the arrival of Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra continued to lead the charge from the other end. The constant rotation of strikes and the southpaw picking holes in India’s field kept the hosts at bay.

India skipper Rohit Sharma was quick to react to the situation and introduced Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav to put a limit on the damage.

Rohit’s move instantly did the trick, with Jadeja keeping it straight to clean up Phillips (14). Matt Henry smashed back-to-back boundaries to keep the visitors’ scoreboard ticking.

In Jadeja’s next over, he swung hard and found the boundary rope on two successive occasions. The experienced India spinner stung Henry back by keeping things simple. He invited Henry to slog him away, and the Kiwi player happily accepted the invitation. Henry went for a wild swing, missed the ball completely and allowed the ball to blow the bails away from the stumps.

With New Zealand stuck in a peculiar situation, Rachin and Tim Southee dug deep to derail India’s high-flying bowlers. The duo took the brunt of scoring runs in patches and perfectly executed their plan of attack.

With ANI Inputs