Published: Oct 03, 2016, 07:15 AM (IST)
Edited: Oct 03, 2016, 04:56 PM (IST)
Good Morning, Namaste! Hello and Welcome to CricketCountry’s live coverage of Day 4 of the second Test between India and New Zealand at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday. I am Kaustubh Mayekar, and I will be bringing to you all the live updates from this match. This Test is a iconic one for the hosts as it also marks the 250th game played at home. India have fared well so far after electing to bat first on Day 1. Their batsmen did a decent job collectively after which it was just the seam bowlers, who wrecked havoc in the New Zealand dugout. New Zealand at the end of Day 2 were precariously placed at 128 for the loss of seven wickets and find themselves in all sorts of trouble.LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs New Zealand 2nd Test at Kolkata, Day 4
At the start of Day Three, it was speculated that within the first hour or so, the Indian bowlers would scalp the remaining three wickets of the visitors, as they were left struggling at 128 for 7 at the end of Day Two, trailing by 188 runs. But the day started with the visitors displaying some gritty batting from their tail-enders, especially Jeetan Patel’s run-a-ball 47 which helped the visitors to reach a decent total of 204 before all the batsmen were sent back into the dugout. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the successful bowler for India as he took five-for followed by Mohammed Shami who took three.
India had a lead of 112 runs as they began their second innings which started off in a disastrous manner as India lost their first wicket at the score of 12 as Murali Vijay was the first of all. It was soon followed by Cheteshwar Pujara who was the star for the hosts in the first innings. Pujara could score only four before Matt Henry trapped him on his pad. Dhawan on the other side of the crease survived amidst outrageous pace bowling. He hit three more boundaries. Eventually, he was done by Boult’s pace, getting trapped in front.
It was not until Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma took the matter in their hands that the fall of wickets took some pause. Rather than the usual style of Test cricket, both displayed some elegant stroke-play before the Indian skipper was sent back to the dressing room. He struck a fluent 65-ball 45. Nonetheless, he was victimised by the track’s uneven bounce, as Boult’s short-of-length delivery stayed low, leaving no time for Kohli bring his bat down. The Indian captain had a wry smile on his face. He knew he was unlucky.
Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin soon joined their captain in the dressing room. India were 106 for 6. India’s crisis man Wriddhiman Saha was yet again placed at a crucial juncture. But it was Rohit Sharma who continued piling on runs at his favourite ground (he scored 264 in ODIs and 177 on his Test debut at Eden Gardens). With dependable Saha at the other end, Rohit took on the New Zealand bowlers quite well sending a clear signal of his elegance regained. He scored 82 off 132, including 9 fours and 2 sixes. It seemed like he had clear intentions of raising his bat for his century before the day ended, but a mistimed shot ended his innings at 82. India finished Day Three at 227 for 8, leading by 339 runs.
LIVE CRICKET SCORECARD & BALL-BY-BALL COMMENTARY: India vs New Zealand 2nd Test at Kolkata, Day 4
