India vs New Zealand Day 4: Pant falls for 99; India 438/6 as momentum swings NZ’s way with one session left

BENGALURU: The new ball did the trick for New Zealand which gave them the crucial wickets of the set batters before heading to tea on day four of the first Test match against India here at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

India managed to wipe off the deficit and even earned a slender lead of 82, but is not yet in a safe zone as it lost wickets in key situations with a session and one full day left.

The rush of watching Sarfaraz Khan and Rishab Pant going all guns blazing was cut short abruptly when Khan fell immediately after reaching 150 (18*4, 3*6).

He was snagged by an outswinger from Tim Southee, which he tried to lift over covers but only to find the ball safely land in Ajaz Patel's hands.

Pant was still at the crease and was still in a good touch, which sustained the team and fans' hope of a miraculous escape after the horrible first innings collapse. But that was short-lived.

A few overs later, just as he was close to scoring yet another century, William O'Rourke broke through to rattle his stumps, leaving Pant agonisingly short by just one run (9*4, 5*1).

O'Rourke returned to accentuate the crisis by snapping KL Rahul who failed to negotiate a delivery that had an extra bounce.