India v New Zealand, 1st Test, Day 3: 5 Talking Points

Day three of the first India v New Zealand Test match at Kanpur saw the Indians wrest control in the first session of play. The interesting part of the ordeal was the fact that they made a comeback after having been pegged back by the visitors on the second day’s play. The first session was quintessentially a Jadeja and Ashwin massacre as the spin twins claimed all nine New Zealand wickets that fell on the day. However, as far as the Indians were concerned, it was clear that the job was far from over. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara added an important partnership, something that could potentially take the game away from New Zealand.

However, as far as the Indians were concerned, it was clear that the job was far from over. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara added an important partnership, something that could potentially take the game away from New Zealand.

1. Ashwin and Jadeja rip through New Zealand

The morning session saw the Indian spinners go on an all out attack on New Zealand. As Ravi Shastri described it, the Indians were all over the Kiwis like a rash. After picking up three wickets in the first half-hour of play, they did not lift the pressure. The pressure remained as they claimed the next five wickets after lunch in under 20 overs. On a side note, Ravindra Jadeja reached another personal milestone when he claimed his 5th five-wicket haul in Test-match cricket.

2. Luke Ronchi helps Kiwis stall in the first session

Luke Ronchi was perhaps the only shining light among the New Zealand batsmen on the day. Moreover, he was perhaps the only batsman who looked solid apart from the few deliveries that BJ Watling faced. Ronchi smashed a brisk 38 of 75 deliveries including 6 boundaries. He was the one player who stood in between India and a complete New Zealand middle-order destruction.

3. KL Rahul and Murali Vijay get India off to a solid start

KL Rahul and Murali Vijay got the Indians off to a solid start as they had done in the first innings. While the first innings saw both batsmen take somewhat of an aggressive approach to the game, the second saw them take a logical and mindful approach. They batted from the end of the New Zealand innings right till the stroke of the tea break before which KL Rahul was snapped up by the irresistible Ish Sodhi.

4. Pujara shows his mettle

During the day’s play, Sunil Gavaskar made an interesting analysis on Cheteshwar Pujara. He pointed out that Pujara had been troubled by the square turning delivery in the West Indies, something that had accounted for the loss of form in the Caribbean. However, whether the former Indian skipper was right or not, Pujara looked invincible. Surprisingly, he took an aggressive approach to his batting, something that one can witness only when he plays domestic cricket. Pujara smashed 50 runs from just 80 deliveries.

5. Pujara and Vijay cut loose after tea

After the tea break, it was a case of the Indians being as ruthless as they possibly could. They announced their intent almost immediately when Murali Vijay smashed Mitchell Santner straight into the mid-wicket stands, something not many most certainly expected. Pujara, as mentioned earlier, was also a massive part of proceedings as he too went the full monty with a few lofted hits into the fence. The duo remained unbeaten after adding 107 massively important runs between them.