Published: Sep 24, 2016, 07:30 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 24, 2016, 04:46 PM (IST)
Good morning, Namaste! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of Day 3 of the first of the three-Test series between hosts India and visitors New Zealand at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur on Saturday, as India are also playing their 500th Test match. I am Devarchit Varma, and I will be bringing to you all the live updates from this match for this day. India, who had a tough day in the opening day were bowled out for 318 in the first hour of Day 2, while New Zealand managed to end Day 2 at 152 for the loss of a wicket, with rain playing spoil-sport in the post-tea session, thus bringing curtains to the day’s play with just 98 overs being bowled.
As we expect Day 3 to be rain free, and with play scheduled to start 15 minutes early (9.15 AM IST), India would definitely be facing an important and uphill task to get rid of the pair of skipper Kane Williamson and opener Tom Latham, who have managed to tighten the screw on Indian bowlers, and have so far put up an unbeaten 117-run stand for the second wicket, as they manage to continue the same momentum from Day 2. As for India, the bowlers would definitely aim to get rid of the pair, especially in the opening hour of the day.
With New Zealand still trailing by 166 runs, there is absolutely no chance to the Indians enforcing a follow on. However, it would indeed be interesting to see how the pitch behaves, and how it assists the spinner, as we saw on Day 2, the ball started to spin dangerously in the later half of the day, and as the match progresses, the cracks in the pitch are due to get wider, thus assisting the spinner more. Thus, it makes it interesting to see how the spinners in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja make an impact on Day 3. India vs New Zealand, 1st Test 2016: Kiwis win Day 2 – Twitter reactions
Among the Indian bowlers so far, Umesh Yadav is the only bowler to have succeeded, as he claimed the only wicket in the New Zealand innings so far in the form of Martin Guptill, after dismissing him for 21, as he was trapped leg-before by the pacer, owing to some good bowling. However, following his dismissal, the pacer has not managed to come up with a stellar performance, but was economical enough to bowl seven overs for just 22 runs, which also included a couple of maidens. Apart from him, Mohammed Shami has so far been the most economical bowler, bowling just eight overs, and giving away just 26 odd runs with a maiden, as he would be aiming to get a wicket eventually, and it could not get better, if he manages to get rid of the pair of Latham and Williamson. IND Vs NZ 1st Test, Day 2: Rain plays spoilsport as Kiwis dominate
As for the spinners, both Ashwin and Jadeja bowled the maximum overs on Day 2, but are yet to claim a wicket, as they gave away hefty 43 and 47 runs, respectively. However, with the pitch deteriorating, and the cracks soon opening up, things are about to get easier for these spinners, and Day 3 indeed would be an exciting day to watch out for the Indian bowlers, as the overcast conditions could also assist the pacers with the seam, and a possible reverse swing. Tom Latham declared ‘not-out’: Twitter reactions
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
