Rachin Ravindra scored a century in his first Test at his native home as he and Tim Southee all but took the game out of India’s hands with a stunning late assault in the first session. New Zealand’s lead has swollen to nearly 300 runs at Lunch on Day 3.
Rachin Ravindra and Tim Southee launched a stunning assault in the second half of the first session after India knocked off four quick wickets and put New Zealand in a commanding position at Lunch on Day 2 of the first Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. New Zealand smashed as many 165 runs in the first session with the partnership between Ravindra and Southee standing at 112 off just 97 balls. Ravindra walked back on 104 off 125 balls while Southee was on 49 off 50. Southee hit three sixes which took him to 91 sixes, equalling Virender Sehwag’s career tally in Test cricket. New Zealand hence finished the session with a lead of 299, their score on 345/7 in 81 runs.
Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah got the early wickets India were searching for on Day 3. Ravindra Jadeja then chipped in with a double strike but Rachin Ravindra has switched gears since then with Tim Southee providing able company. Ravindra got to a half-century with a four and New Zealand’s lead went past 200 shortly after that.
Siraj earlier dismissed Daryl Mitchell in his third over of the day after the latter and Ravindra resumed the New Zealand first innings on Day 3. The visitors led by 134 runs at the end of Day 2, having ended with a score of 180/3 in 50 overs after bundling India out for a record-low score of 46.
New Zealand had almost no trouble easing into the lead, with openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway starting strong. Latham eventually departed for 15 off 49 balls. Meanwhile, Conway built a strong partnership with Will Young, who fell for 33 off 75 balls. Conway missed out on a century, losing his wicket to R Ashwin for 91 off 105 balls.
India were bowled out for 46 in 31.2 overs, with only Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) and Rishabh Pant (20) reaching double figures. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin departed for ducks. For New Zealand’s bowling department, Matt Henry took a five-wicket haul, Will O’Rourke bagged four dismissals.
After the final session, Rohit regretted his toss decision during the post-day press conference. India won the toss and opted to bat. “I am hurting a little bit because I made that call. We found ourselves in a situation where we got bowled out for 46 runs. As a captain, it definitely hurts to see that number,” he said.
“So, clearly a misjudgement of the pitch. I did not read the pitch well enough and we sit in this situation. Though in 365 days, you will make two or three bad calls. That is absolutely fine, I guess,” he added.
