IND v NZ, 1st Test, Day 1 Review: Kiwis claw back into the game with key wickets

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IND v NZ
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(Photo Source: BCCI)

The historic 500th Test and the first IND v NZ test of the series began with Virat Kohli winning the toss fifth time in the row at home. The decision as anticipated was to bat first and the openers Murali Vijay and KL Rahul gave India a brisk start putting up a 42 for the first wicket.

Rahul looked in aggressive mood during his short yet entertaining knock today with Trent Boult standing at the receiving end. The left arm fast bowler started off the day receiving two boundaries in the opening over and then again got smacked couple a few overs later.

Vijay looked in his natural form batting with patience. While India had Rahul batting aggressively with the bat, the Kiwis had Wagner, from the other end, trying to bounce out the opener. He was fairly successful and managed to both the duo a bit but was far from making the feel uncomfortable.

Everything looked smooth for India. But, Mitchell Santner’s introduction in the 9th over brought some turnaround for the visitors. The left arm spinner snapped Rahul in his second over of the spell to give the Black Caps their first moment to cheer.

Rahul attacking approach could not work as Santner induced an edge off his bat and got him caught behind just after getting hit for a six in the previous ball.

Williamson then brought spinners from both the ends introducing off-spinner Mark Craig as Santner’s bowling partner. Both bowled in tandem. But, Pujara and Vijay proved to be strong for them. The duo smoothly ticked off singles and hit occasional boundaries to take India to a pretty good position by the of the first session.

There wasn’t any help for the fast bowlers and at the same time the ball also did not turn and bounced freakishly. It looked like a normal batting friendly wicket you get on most occasions in the sub-continent. The visitors, however, maintained discipline and would be happy to return with the important wicket of KL Rahul despite letting India settle down for the rest of the session.

Mitchell Santner was accurate and looked dangerous. Mark Craig bowled struggled with his length but was drifting the ball pretty well often making Pujara and Vijay miscue their shots.

New Zealanders clawed back into the game as India inflicted three big losses in the lunch session. The opposition bowlers came back with a with more zeal after Lunch and were able to send back the settled of Cheteshwar Pujara and skipper Virat Kohli back to the pavilion in short successions shortly after getting into the session and gain some momentum in the match. The biggest setback, however, was delivered when the Murali Vijay was snapped just an over before the tea session was called.

Coming back from the break, Pujara and Vijay began in their usual comfortable manner and went on to complete their respective half-centuries.

However, left-arm spinner Santner brought another breakthrough in the form of the big fish Pujara. As stated earlier, Santner was able to make the Indians miscue their shots on a couple of occasions and this factor eventually became the reason for Pujara’s departure as he popped back a simple catch to the spinner while trying to work the ball towards the leg side. The duo was separated after putting 112 runs for the 2nd wicket.

Neil Wagner’s logic of attacking the Indians with bouncers finally paid off after Kohli top edged a shorter one to Ish Sodhi in the deep fine leg region.

Vijaya, at this stage, looked unmovable, however, and batted smoothly. It seemed that he would safely bat out the session. But, the unexpected happened just an over before the tea after the right-hander was dismissed by leggie Ish Sodhi.

The Black Caps would be mighty pleased by the way they bowled this session. Whereas the Mumbai pair of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma have the task of helping India sail through the last session without inducing any further damage.

The final session saw the Kiwis take control of the game by the scruff of the neck. Trent Boult, in particular, was at his menacing best. Most also feel as though Kane Williamson struck a masterstroke as he handed the ball to Trent Boult.

The occasion of the 500th Test match somewhat seemed to elude the Indian players as they Boult went about bowling in a spell that saw him give the Indians a run for their money. His spell saw him pick three wickets as well as concede just the 15 runs in what was an outstanding show of fast bowling.

Although the Indians most certainly have the one wicket to play, they will be cautious about the addition of a few runs on the morning of the second day’s play.

Brief Scores: 

India: 291/9 in 90 overs (M Vijay 65; T Boult 3/57)

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