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NZ 236 | India vs New Zealand Live score, 1st Test, Day 5: India win by 197 runs

An interesting final Day 5 lies ahead, as India are most certainly poised for a historic win vs New Zealand in the 500th Test, at Kanpur.

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India are as of now certainly in the driver’s seat over New Zealand © AFP

Good Morning, Namaste! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of Day 5 of the first of the three-Test series between hosts India and visitors New Zealand at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Monday. I am Devarchit Varma, and I will be bringing to you all the live updates from this tie. India are as of now certainly in the driver’s seat, as they have posted a challenging total of 434 for the visitors to chase it down in the final innings, while they find themselves four crucial wickets down with 93 runs on the board, and still 341 runs short of the target.

India, who had a soft start to their campaign, scoring 318 in the opening innings, certainly did a fruitful job with the ball, as they managed to restrict the Kiwis to 262 in their first innings, and also earning an all-important 80-run lead in their second innings. As for their second innings is concerned, they came up with a stellar performance with the bat, with four batsmen scoring half-centuries, in the form of opener Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, while India posted a mammoth total of 434 for the Kiwis to draw first blood.

As for the Kiwis second innings, India as expected, came strong with the ball, especially the spinners, as Ravichandran Ashwin, who is currently India’s star spinner, and is in the form of his life, claimed the three opening wickets in the form of opener Tom Latham, Martin Guptill, and skipper Kane Williamson, while Ross Taylor suffered an unfortunate run out, as they lost four crucial wickets, and now face a serious situation of losing out the match with just six wickets in their bag, and also with the Indian spinners killing it with the ball, as the pitch at the Green Park Stadium has certainly started to turn heavily. New Zealand face inevitable defeat

As far as Day 5 is concerned the opening session, especially the opening hour is indeed going to be crucial for the Kiwi batsmen, as they need to handle the early hour seam and turn of the ball from the Indian bowlers. Also, they need to maintain a composed attitude, rather than just going for the kill right from the start, as it could just make things easier for the Indians to finish off the job fast. Also, the Kiwis can go for a draw, rather than just focusing on a win. However, the alarming situation is that they don’t have much batsmen left. With the pair of Luke Ronchi, and Mitchell Santner out in the middle as of now, the dismissal of both these men would mean a certain end to their batting order, with the tail-enders certainly not so flexible with the bat. Watch Ravindra Jadeja’s fencing skills after completing half-century

As far as the pitch is concerned, it is certainly not going to be in its best shape, especially on the final day of play, as they cracks have definitely widened up, and is sure to assist the spinner, as was evident in the first innings  from the Indian bowlers, and are sure to possess grave threat to the Kiwi batsmen. Also, the fast bowlers can have a little assist from the pitch in the form of reverse swing, which certainly makes the Task more uphill for the Kiwis. However, an interesting final day lies ahead, as India are most certainly poised for a historic win. Ashwin 2nd fastest to reach 200 Test wickets

Teams:

India: Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav.

New Zealand: Tom Latham, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, BJ Watling (wk), Mark Craig, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner.

FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs New Zealand, 1st Test at Kanpur

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