India batters fight back on Day 3 as B’luru Test hangs in balance

BENGALURU: Despite Rachin Ravindra’s sensational century swelling New Zealand’s lead to 356 runs, Virat Kohli’s gritty 70, alongside Sarfaraz Khan’s steady support, nearly saved India from a deeper collapse and they lived to fight another day against New Zealand here on Friday. At stumps on the third day, India finished at 231 for three, still trailing the visiting team by 125 runs. The burly Sarfaraz was batting on 70 (78b, 7x4, 3x6).

However, in a match of shifting fortunes, Kohli was dismissed off the last ball of the day, as Glenn Phillips managed to induce a faint edge leaving a bittersweet finish for the Indian side in what was an enthralling day of cricket at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Resuming the day from 180 for three, New Zealand lost wickets regularly in the initial hour to raise visions of a collapse.

Daryl Mitchell was tested by the Indian quicks who didn’t let him settle in the morning session. After struggling to score, he got off the mark with a soft edge which ran past the slips for a boundary in Mohammed Siraj’s over. And just the ball after, he tried to play a backfoot punch but ended up getting a thick edge which went straight to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully.

Rachin, who was at the crease, was calm when the pacers were using the morning conditions. But when the pitch settled down, he displayed one of the finest knocks, especially against the formidable Indian spin attack.

He added a crucial 137 runs for the eighth wicket with Tim Southee, who hit 65 runs off 73 balls. It was the joint-highest eighth wicket partnership for New Zealand in Tests against India.

In reply, the Indian openers had a solid start in pursuit of wiping off a Himalayan lead. Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal made the most of the kinder conditions and quickly started scoring runs especially with Matt Henry looking for swing as the ball didn’t seam much.

But just when it looked like things were going smoothly, Jaiswal got ambitious as he charged down the track even before Ajaz Patel released the ball. The bowler was smart in pulling back his length which resulted in Jaiswal missing it completely to put an end to the 72-run opening stand along with Rohit.

The skipper too was dismissed by the left-arm spinner, but it was an unlucky one. He leaned forward to play a defensive stroke, but the ball glanced off the inside edge, bounced on the pitch, and spun back onto the stumps before he even realised what happened.

Virat, who once again came at No 3, took his time to settle and played a fine knock under pressure alongside Sarfaraz to add 136 runs in just 163 deliveries. The duo was scoring nearly five runs per over at one point, before Phillips weaved his magic off the final ball.

Brief scores: India 46 & 231/3 in 49 overs (Virat Kohli 70, Sarfaraz Khan 70 batting, Rohit Sharma 52) vs New Zealand 402 in 91.3 overs (Rachin Ravindra 134, Devon Conway 91, Tim Southee 65)