India Vs New Zealand, 1st Test 2016 Highlights, Day 1: Ravichandran Ashwin’s milestone, Trent Boult’s comeback and other highlights

Thursday marked a special chapter in annals of Indian cricket. When India took on New Zealand in the first Test at Kanpur they became the fourth team after England, Australia and West Indies to play 500 Tests. There were special scenes before the start of the match as many luminaries — mostly former Indian captains were at attendance in Green Park, Kanpur. At toss, Virat Kohli candidly admitted that he never thought he would lead India in their 500th Test and it was a special moment for him, seeing so many of his heroes in attendance. Kane Williamson called it wrong at the toss, which meant India would bat.

India started well and won the first session but could not keep up the momentum. New Zealand came back strong in the second session and their spinners had the say. At the end of Day One, India were at 291 for 9 with Ravindra Jadeja and Umesh Yadav at the crease. India, who were expected to steamroll the touring Kiwis know that they have a task in hand. Earlier, India stocked their side with six-specialist batsman and surprised many. Considering the current situation, it proved to be a good decision. At the end of the first day’s play, let us relive the play through highlights.

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Grand occasion: Not always do you get to see a barrage of former greats during a start of a Test. BCCI had invited former India Test captains and felicitated them ahead of the side’s 500th Test. Mohammad Azharuddin, shunned by BCCI for almost a decade, was invited too. The stylish Hyderabadi was spotted next to Dilip Vengsarkar. ALSO READ: IND vs NZ, 1st Test: Former Test captains felicitated during 500th Test

A couple of months back, Team India’s coach selection saga turned ugly thanks to Ravi Shastri’s verbal attack on Sourav Ganguly, which prompted the latter to respond too. Seems like, the past is put behind. Both Ganguly and Shastri were seen sitting close to Sachin Tendulkar.

The journey to celebrate #500thTest in Kanpur @Paytm Test Cricket #INDvNZ – @RJohri pic.twitter.com/f31sWD0lEA

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 21, 2016

Former #TeamIndia Captains felicitated ahead of #500thTest – @Paytm Test Cricket #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/OzZGhQn4p0

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 22, 2016

#500thTest a historic moment fr cricket lovers #indvsnz began w/ national anthem in the presence of cricket legends. pic.twitter.com/4WJKzKIVh6

— Lt. Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) September 22, 2016

Testing first over: Trent Boult sprayed a bit in the first over in attempt to find the right length. Batsman typically take things easy at the start, but KL Rahul has been in sublime form and punished Boult for his errors. Rahul presented the full face of the bat to a full toss for four in the second ball of the Test. Two balls later Rahul punched one through cover for another boundary. India start with 8 for no loss.

MS Dhoni arrives: Much to the delight of crowd, Dhoni, another former India Test captain arrived at Kanpur. Sporting a beard and a new look, Captain Cool was spotted alongside Ganguly. With so much happening off the pitch, it was tough to concentrate on the bat-ball battle on the ground.

Wagner’s barrage of short balls and Vijay’s monk-like temperament: Wagner, who was outstanding in Zimbabwe, could have probably not played the game if Tim Southee had been fit. Wagner started his second over with a bouncer that struck Vijay on his arm-guard on its way to gully. He tested Vijay’s temperament but the Indian opener is renowned for his monk-like temperament.  He played them well and let them go. ALSO READ: IND Vs NZ 1st Test, Day 1: Kiwis’ collective bowling effort reduces hosts to 291/9

Santner vs Rahul: Rahul seemed to be on a mission. He was batting very well and did not want the bowlers to settle down. Santner was the first spinner to be brought into the attack. In his second over Rahul swept him for the first six of the match. Two balls later Santner got one to turn sharply; Rahul stayed back in the crease and got an outside edge. BJ Watling completed a brilliant catch. ALSO READ: IND Vs NZ 1st Test, Day 1: Vijay, Pujara take hosts to 105/1 at lunch

Pujara’s footwork: One of the highlights of the day has to be Pujara’s stroke-making. Often criticised for slow batting, Pujara made it count with a stroke-filled 62. The hallmark was his footwork against New Zealand spinners.

Before lunch, Pujara struck three gorgeous boundaries. He charged off-spinner Mark Craig by stepping out and rolled his wrists over to ensure the ball remained wide of mid-on en route boundary. Pujara later sprinted down the ground, negated the turn and stroked the ball to the long-on boundary. Pujara was not done. This time to counter Sodhi’s leg-spin, he stepped out and drove it straight for another four. Good batsmanship. That is what you want to see in Test cricket. ALSO READ: Cheteshwar Pujara scores 8th Test half-century on Day 1 of 1st Test vs New Zealand

Heartbreak for Boult: Finally Boult triumphed over Vijay’s patience and got him to edge one in the 32nd over. There was no slip, and Vijay’s edge flew to third-man boundary. Boult looked gutted.

Are Boult and Watling friends? Boult was back in action. Watling was standing up to the stumps. Boult is not used to a wicketkeeper standing up to him. In the 38th over, despite Watling standing up to the stumps, Boult bowled a bouncer. Watling had a petrified look on his face as the ball went over him for a four bye. Commentator Sanjay Manjrekar went on “Are the bowler and keeper friends?”

Fifties that prove mettle: India were in a commanding position with Pujara and Vijay at the crease. Both were dropped for Tests in West Indies, something that was baffling. Pujara and Vijay form the backbone of India’s batting. Both Vijay (65) and Pujara (62) got fifties and proved their importance. The moment they fell, India struggled. ALSO READ: Vijay scores 13th Test half-century on Day 1 of 1st Test vs NZ

Kohli loses Round One to Wagner: Wagner’s persistence with short balls was finally rewarded. Kohli was looking good during his stay. The first ball of the 51st over was short from Wagner; Kohli pulled it magnificently for a boundary. The next ball was shortish; Kohli defended. Next up, Wagner targeted Kohli’s nose; Kohli went for the leg-side stands. Unfortunately, unable to control the pull, Kohli had a top edge, and Sodhi took the catch. It was not needed. It was a big blow for India as they went down to 167 for 3.

Sodhi breaks through Vijay’s defence: Vijay is a tough nut to crack. He can bat all day with patience. He is never in a hurry and has all the time. At stroke of tea, however, Sodhi dropped one short; Vijay, who had been leaving deliveries outside off stump nonchalantly, went for a cut and got an edge to Watling’s gloves. A win for Sodhi.

Manjrekar, Shastri and the awkwardness: Manjrekar was quite critical of the surfaces used during India-South Africa Test series last year. Shastri was India’s Team Director and defended the tracks. Shastri and Manjrekar might have shared many happy India and Mumbai dressing rooms but in recent times have not agreed to each other. ALSO READ: Sanjay Manjrekar takes dig at media after announcement of Indian squad for New Zealand Tests

In fact, Manjrekar had expressed his support for Ganguly during the coach saga through a tweet: “More than Sourav, I think Ravi is miffed with the rejection. It is a new experience for him. BCCI have made the better choice as coach.”

There was an awkward moment when both were together in the commentary box and an argument broke out about the pitches during South Africa tour.

Manjrekar praised the Kanpur wicket, which he believed was in contrast to the ones used last year. Shastri termed it poor batting efforts by both sides. Shastri argued that Rahane had batted well in Delhi and got two hundreds. Manjrekar replied that Rahane did so because it was a better pitch. Shastri’s counterargument was the best wicket in the series was in Bengaluru, where South Africa had been bundled out for 200 and India made a good start before the game was washed out.

Well, some awkward tense moments.

Test cricket returns home: However, to make things lighter there was a sight which would please many Test cricket fans. The cameras caught a policeman controlling a mini-crowd. What is so unusual about this? With dwindling interest in Test cricket in India, any mention of crowd is Test matches is a good news for the lovers of the pristine format.

Rohit runs out of patience: There were some raised eyebrows when Rohit was picked for this Test. Once he was picked, however, here was his chance to prove his critics and trolls wrong. After a flurry of wickets in the middle-order, Rohit did a good job of consolidating and put up a good stand with Ravichandran Ashwin. Batting on 35 and with only just over 7 overs in the day remaining, Rohit tried to clear the in-field against Santner. The machismo was unneeded and he was caught at mid-on. Another chance, wasted.

Rohit ran out of patience yet again: one can only hope the selectors do not.

Boult from the blue: It has been an ordinary day for Boult till the 80th over. However, New Zealand’s ace left-arm pacer turned it around with the second new ball. The men from Bengal, Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammed Shami were an unlucky lot. Saha was tested with a ball pitching on middle that swung in sharply, found the small gap between bat and pad to dismantle the stumps. A cross-seamed delivery got the better of the well-set Ashwin and Shami then received a Saha-like delivery, too good for a No.10. Boult finished with three wickets.

Finally, Ashwin has another milestone day: Before the series started, Ashwin was already India’s highest wicket-taker this year, with 17 wickets. No surprises here. However, when he reached 33, he became India’s highest run-getter in 2016. He has got 275 runs at a staggering 55. He eventually fell to a Boult peach for 40. ALSO READ: Ravichandran Ashwin picks top 5 moments from India’s Test history

(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, a jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sports marketer, strategist, entrepreneur, philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)