Published: Sep 18, 2016, 02:48 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 18, 2016, 05:13 PM (IST)
New Zealand have a tough task ahead of them, come third and the last session of the warm-up game. The Kiwis should consider them lucky if they are able to draw this game against Mumbai. They made a mistake to take Ranji trophy Champions lightly in the warm-up game for the second consecutive day. The Kiwis are leading by 47 runs with just 4 wicket in hand. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson’s decision to send nigh-watch batsmen out to bat, one after another on Day Three failed miserably. Their poor decision-making led to a batting collapse, putting them in the danger of the losing the warm-up game against a domestic side. On the other hand Mumbai bowlers are making life terrible for the batsmen at the crease. Even the pitch is getting dry with every passing session and it will be tough for Tom Latham and BJ Watling to keep their wickets intact.
Spinners Vishal Dabholkar, Vijay Gohil and Parikshit Valsangkar are trying to pitch the ball into the rough and extract unexpected bounce and spin from the pitch. However, sending Mitchell Santner looked like a good move as they intended to get the all-rounder some practice before the Kanpur Test but sending Doug Bracewell, and Trent Boult did not seem to work for them. Henry Nicholls disappointed as he departed after scoring a single. Sending Boult after the team has lost 4 wickets seemed a not-so-wise decision altogether.
Luke Ronchi too got out soon after scoring his century. Ronchi was the only batsmen from the Kiwis side who played his natural game scoring 15 fours and 3 sixes. Latham and Watling were the ones who retired in the first innings. They have struggled but managed to keep their wickets intact till now. However, they have a whole session to play and this wicket will be crucial in deciding the fate of the warm-up game. A win here fro Mumbai will boost their confidence before Ranji Trophy 2016-17.
Brief Scores:
New Zealand 187 for 6 in 49 overs (Luke Ronchi 107, BJ Watling 20; Vijay Gohil 2 for 46, Siddhesh Lad 1 for 10) & 324 for 7 dec (Tom Latham 55, Kane Williamson 50; Balwinder Sandhu 2 for 21, Siddhesh Lad 1 for 34) lead Mumbai 464 for 8 dec (Suryakumar Yadav 103, Kaustubh Pawar 100; Ish Sodhi 2 for 132, Trent Boult 1 for 35) by 47 runs.
(Arun Rawal, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a daydreamer, movie buff, and cricket fanatic. He could not play cricket, so did the next best thing, writing for it. He loves to play the flick shot over square leg, and believes Sachin Tendulkar is God. His Twitter handle is @ArunRawal93)
