Kanpur: India set New Zealand an improbable 434-run victory target and then blew away the visitors’ top order in Sunday’s final session to close in on a resounding win in the first Test.
Resuming day four on 159 for one, India’s positive batting over two sessions yielded 218 runs before home captain Virat Kohli declared on 377 for five at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium.
Needing to pull off the biggest successful chase in the history of Test cricket for an unlikely win, New Zealand wobbled early and were reeling at 93 for four at stumps, still trailing the massive target by 341.
Luke Ronchi (38 batting, 58b, 4×4, 1×6) and Mitchell Santner (8 batting, 50b) will return Monday hoping to resist or at least delay India’s victory march in the first match of the three-Test series.
Ravichandran Ashwin (3/68), who dismissed four frontline Kiwi batsmen in the first innings, proved once again why he is considered India’s premier spinner. The off-spinner had Martin Guptill caught at silly point for a duck with the first ball of his second over and trapped Tom Latham (2, 15b) leg before with the fifth.
Ashwin claimed his 200th test wicket when he dismissed New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (25, 59b, 3×4) leg before. Ross Taylor (17, 36b, 2×4) then ran himself out to compound the tourists’ misery.
Earlier in the morning, Williamson attacked with spin from both ends and his slow bowlers did not let him down. Santner trapped Murali Vijay (76, 170b, 8×4, 1×6), ending the right-hander’s second century-plus stand of the match with Cheteshwar Pujara (78, 152b, 10×4).
Kohli did not look comfortable against Santner but it was off-spinner Mark Craig who dismissed the Indian skipper when he attempted a slog-sweep that found Ish Sodhi at deep midwicket.
Sodhi struck the next blow with a beauty of a delivery that spun from outside leg, took the outside edge of Pujara’s bat and nestled into Ross Taylor’s waiting hands at slip.
Rohit Sharma (68 n o, 93b, 8×4) and Ravindra Jadeja (50 n o, 58b, 2×4, 3×6) who was also unbeaten on 42 in the first innings and claimed a five-wicket-haul, continued to have a good match with a crucial 100-run unbeaten stand for the sixth wicket.
Highlights
# Ashwin became the ninth Indian bowler to complete 200 wickets or more in Tests.
# Ashwin enjoys splendid strike rate of 51.4 – the best among the spinners with 200 wickets or more in Tests.
# Among Indian bowlers with 100 wickets or more in Tests on Indian soil, Ashwin’s bowling average of 21.03 is the best.
# Having captured 5/73 in the first innings, Jadeja has become the second Indian all-rounder to post a fifty and take five wickets in an innings vs New Zealand in the same Test.
Ashwin registers rare bowling feat
Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin Sunday achieved a rare feat and became the fastest Indian and second overall to take 200 wickets, reaching the milestone in his 37th Test.
Ashwin trapped New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson in front to get to the 200-mark on day four of the first Test at the Green Park. The spinner had also got the better of Williamson in the first innings, when he went through the defence of the visiting captain with a vicious off-spinner.
Ashwin, who has so far taken seven wickets in the Kanpur Test, said he enjoyed his last 100 wickets. “Ever since coming back from Australia (in 2014-15), I have been enjoying my last 100 wickets. I was planning my wickets better,” said Ashwin after stumps on day four.
“The challenge from the opposition is always good. For example, Williamson was playing really well. Taylor was playing back. It’s a combination of playing good batsmen, conditions and match situations that makes this satisfying.
“I think it’s too early to talk about my achievements. I have a long way to go. Very important to take one day at a time, Test cricket can set you back if you take it for granted. Be greedy in terms of what you want to achieve, but preparing for a Test, you have to take it one day at a time,” he added.
Jurgensen banks on partnership building
New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen says partnerships will be crucial to his team’s survival on the fifth and final day of the first Test against India here Monday.
Chasing a history-defying 434-run target, New Zealand need 341 more runs to win or bat through the day on the fifth-day pitch to save the match. The Kiwis have Luke Ronchi and Mitchell Santner at the crease but lost key batsmen including captain Kane Williamson on day four to end at 93 for four.
“We made some adjustments. I think like that last partnership towards the end, we’ve just got to keep fighting and that’s the way we play cricket, we have to fight till the end. There is still six wickets to go and if you get a good partnership going, and we saw that when India batted, if you get a good partnership you can score at a decent rate, and more importantly you can bat for time,” Jurgensen said in the press conference.
“That’s our goal, to fight for as long as we can, have a good start in the morning and really try and fight as far as we can.” Asked how difficult it is for them to turn things around against such quality Indian spinners, he said not buckling under pressure is key.
Agencies
