NZ fights back with late wickets on a rollercoaster day

After the first day of the last Test in Mumbai, New Zealand emerged victorious, while India lost three wickets for eight runs in the closing stages of play. With Shubman Gill (31*) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (30) in complete control, India was coasting to the end at 78/1. But the foreigners had a field day over the next 10 minutes as the former’s bold reverse sweep gave Ajaz Patel his maiden wicket of the match. Nightwatchman Mohammed Siraj was trapped LBW by Ajaz, therefore he was unable to complete his duties. Siraj made matters worse by burning a review before leaving the field.

Virat Kohli attempted a dangerous single with a drive to mid-on, but Matt Henry smacked the spinner directly, causing the home team to suffer more anguish before stumps. Even a dive caught Kohli far short, demonstrating the magnitude of the Indian batsman’s poor decision. After choosing to bat, New Zealand reached a pretty mediocre total, capping an outstanding day. Before it began to significantly help the spinners, the Wankhede surface was its typical self, with some bounce and slight movement in the morning.

Will Young (71) and Daryl Mitchell (82) were the Black Caps’ main contributors, both of whom handled the bowling with ease. Their 87-run partnership was crucial since it coincided with Washington Sundar taking the wickets of Tom Latham and Rachin Ravindra in quick succession. Even though Sundar (4-81) was India’s most effective bowler during the morning session, Ravindra Jadeja (5-65) was the player who really stood out after that. Ravichandran Ashwin struggled to make an impression and had a bad day, returning wicketless.

Young and Mitchell were proactive in their approach, making good use of their feet and the crease’s depth. They also swept well, and Mitchell was softly dismissed while Young was removed thanks to some outstanding bowling from Jadeja. New Zealand suffered from losing wickets in clusters and struggled to get away with using the bat since the pitch gave the spinners enough. Jadeja and Sundar tore through the batting order, causing the visitors to lose their last seven wickets for a mere 76 runs. The left-arm spinner was at his most dangerous when he broke into the top five wicket-takers for India in Test matches, surpassing both Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan.

India’s hitters were much more at ease against spin since they didn’t have to contend with Mitchell Santner. Jaiswal and Gill had things under control with a well-paced partnership, but Rohit Sharma suffered yet another setback when he was dismissed by Matt Henry with the new ball. It would have been India’s day if the two had been able to stay together until the very end. But Jaiswal’s blood surge caused a mini-collapse that has currently placed New Zealand at the top. In the fourth innings, chasing will be an enormous undertaking, and batting will only get more difficult. India must therefore score well in the first innings to create the stage for an exciting second day.