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Ajinkya Rahane dismissed for 40 by Mitchell Santner in 500th Test vs New Zealand

Currently India are 280 for the loss of five wickets, with Rohit Sharma on 19, and Ravindra Jadeja on two vs New Zealand in the 500th Test.

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Ajinkya Rahane (above) went on to defend it with a straight bat, as the ball took an outside edge, and was tactfully taken by Ross Taylor in the first slip © AFP (File Photo)

Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed for a fair 40 by spinner Mitchell Santner after being caught by Ross Taylor at the first slip, on Day 4 of the first of the three-Test series at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Sunday, as India are playing their 500th Test match. It was a flighted one from Santner, as it dropped full, took a slight turn, while Rahane went on to defend it with a straight bat, as the ball took an outside edge, and was tactfully taken by Taylor in the first slip. His dismissal bring Ravindra Jadeja to the crease, while India lead by 354 runs. Currently India are 298 for the loss of five wickets, with Rohit Sharma on 36, and Ravindra Jadeja on three.

India had a lead of 215 runs at the start of Day Four of the first Test against New Zealand at Green Park, Kanpur. The in-form duo of Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara were yet again in the thick of action. The pair had added 112 runs for the second wicket in the first innings. India were in a similar position in the second innings as well. KL Rahul scored runs at a brisk pace, giving India a blistering start. And the onus was then on Vijay and Pujara to carry on the momentum. Overnight they added 107 runs.

The awesome twosome of Vijay and Pujara have stitched 1,796 runs at 64.14, in 29 innings. They also have 370-run stand to their name. It came against the powerhouse Australia at Hyderabad. Given the kind of form they are in, they are expected to emulate something similar on Day Four as well. On the other hand, Indian batsmen cheaply gave away their wickets in the first innings. The same conundrum was looming over India. Though they had a reasonable lead, there was no margin for error. India still needed another 200 runs to put New Zealand in a spot of bother. India vs New Zealand Live score, 1 Test, Day 4

New Zealand were mindful that India dished out a plan to score runs at an alerting pace. They knew they had to play on India’s nervous, forcing them to lose their patience. Kohli gave them exactly what they wanted. He played a rash shot. He played an aggressive stroke off Craig. He played a mindless sweep, top-edging it straight to Sodhi at mid-wicket. To put things into perspective, Kohli has churned out only 94 runs in the last 6 innings at 15.67, since his double-hundred. The scorecard read 214 for 3, with a lead of 270 runs.

Rahane and Pujara shouldered the responsibility to build a big score. Pujara was already set. It was Rahane who had to get accustomed to the conditions. Given his class, he took very little time to hit his first boundary. He played a top-drawer shot on the back foot. All the same, Sodhi got the better of the rampaging Pujara. He came round the wicket, bowled on Pujara’s pads and produced an outside edge to first-slip. Yet another start was thrown away, as Pujara had an ideal opportunity to reach the three-figure mark

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