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Mumbai Test: New Zealand End Day 2 At 171/9 In Second Innings

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In cricket, New Zealand were 171 for 9 in their second innings at stumps on day two of the third and final test match against India at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai today. Conceding a lead of 28 runs,

 

New Zealand now have an overall lead of 143 runs. For India, Ravindra Jadeja took 4 wickets while Ravichandran Ashwin took three. Washington Sundar and Akash Deep took one wicket each.

 

Earlier, India were all out for 263 runs, with a solid contributions of 90 runs from Shubhman Gill and Rishabh Pant’s 60. Gill and Rishabh Pant’s quickfire 96-run standoff of 114 balls was the defining feature of the Indian innings.

 

Both players got to their half-centuries quickly, with Pant especially bludgeoning his way to 50 in 36 balls. Washington Sundar stayed unbeaten on 38 runs off 36 balls. For Visitors,  Ajaz Patel took a five-wicket haul.

 

Ravindra Jadeja (4-52) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3-63) weaved their magic to give India a slender advantage on the second day of the final Test against New Zealand in Mumbai. At Stumps, New Zealand were 171 for 9 with a lead of 143. It could still be a fighting total on a crumbling surface but for now, India will believe that they are marginally in front. For the second straight day, bowlers called the shots as 15 wickets fell, one more than the number on the opening day with Ajaz Patel (5-103) being the star in the first half of the day.

 

The final session started with New Zealand shakily placed at 26 for 1. With the surface getting increasingly difficult to bat, every run was bound to be paramount. Will Young (51) continued to impress for the tourists with a battling fifty but he didn’t get the desired support from the other end. Daryl Mitchell (21) and Devon Conway (22) both got starts but weren’t able to kick on. It also didn’t help that the surface had started to play extravagant tricks from the spinners and Conway fell to a fizzing off break that just took off after pitching to find the edge.

 

While that dismissal was unfortunate on the batter, Rachin Ravindra’s dismissal was inexplicable as he stepped out for a wild slog against a sharp spinning off break, only to be stumped by a country mile. Young watched all this at the other end, even as he got into his work with appreciable dexterity. Mitchell combined for a 50-run stand with him and it was the best period of the day for New Zealand in their batting performance. It seemed like the game was starting to slip away from India before Jadeja struck. Mitchell’s intent to keep the scoreboard rapidly ticking got the better of him as he miscued a loft, taken brilliantly by Ashwin at mid-on.

On these kind of pitches, one wicket generally brings two or more and that was the case for the second day in a row. Tom Blundell’s horror series continued as he got cleaned up by Jadeja. In came Glenn Phillips (26) whose only plan was to take the bowling on. With the pitch being as it is, the idea wasn’t bad as runs were at a premium. Phillips struck three sixes and a four in his 14-ball 26 before being castled by Ashwin’s carrom ball. Jadeja was at his menacing best as he sliced through the New Zealand lower order with pinpoint accuracy.

 

Matt Henry and Ajaz Patel hit a six apiece to add some useful runs before the former became Jadeja’s fourth wicket at the fag end of the day. New Zealand finished the day, having lost a bit of momentum but as seen already, batting last could be a very dicey affair, which means that the lead of 143 that New Zealand have right now, could be a tricky chase. The visitors will want to scrap a bit more to stretch the total past 150-155 if they can. Despite the strong bowling performance, India will rue that their batting unit saw another collapse in the series.

 

Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60) counterpunched for a brilliant 96-run stand but apart from the duo’s efforts, India’s batting cut a sorry figure. After having endured a disappointing couple of Tests, Ajaz found his mojo with a relentless spell of spin bowling as he utilised the conditions to optimum effect. Ish Sodhi and Phillips gave him good support with the former striking the big blow of Pant just when the partnership was beginning to take the game completely away from the visitors. One of India’s strong points at home over the last decade or so has been the lower order rearguard that has seen them seal games aplenty. This series, however, that hasn’t been the case at all.

 

Ashwin and Jadeja were unable to click with the bat as Gill ran out of partners before perishing himself to Ajaz’s guile. If not for a powerful cameo from Washington Sundar (38*), India may have struggled to take the first innings lead. The home side then bowled well for most parts to ensure that they had their noses in front by the end of the day, even if the margin of dominance is negligible.

 

Brief scores: New Zealand 235 and 171/9 (Will Young 51; Ravindra Jadeja 4-52, Ravichandran Ashwin 3-63) lead India 263 (Shubman Gill 90, Rishabh Pant 60; Ajaz Patel 5-103) by 143 runs

 

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