In a thrilling turn of events at the cricket ground, Washington Sundar provided India a crucial breakthrough by striking twice in the late afternoon session, bringing back the balance in a game that seemed to be slipping away due to resilient half-centuries from New Zealand’s Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. This shift in momentum left New Zealand at 201 for 5, a score indicative of a hard-fought contest against India’s spin and pace attack.
The day began on a slightly tricky note for the bowlers as the pitch conditions offered little to no assistance. The surface, characterized by its slow nature, saw early jolts of movement for the fast bowlers and momentary turns for the spinners. Despite these momentary challenges, the batsmen adapted, taking advantage of any errors in line by the Indian bowlers to keep the scoreboard ticking. An outside edge that sped away to the boundary marked the initiation of New Zealand’s innings, setting the tone for their morning resistance.
Ravichandran Ashwin, a key player in India’s spin arsenal, made an early entry in the eighth over and brought with him the promise of a gripping battle between the ball and bat. His sharp turning deliveries tested New Zealand, soon claiming the wicket of Tom Latham, caught leg-before. This early spinner’s success hinted at a spinning challenge for the New Zealand batters, a narrative that didn’t fully materialize as the slower pitch compelled the spinners, including Ashwin, Washington Sundar, and Ravindra Jadeja, to bowl at a high pace, averaging over 90kmph. This intensity, however, didn’t translate into substantial wickets before lunch, apart from Will Young’s unfortunate dismissal, off a ball down the leg side, gently kissed by his glove into the ‘keeper’s hand.
As the teams returned post-lunch, New Zealand seemed to have found a more aggressive rhythm. Devon Conway led this charge with a boundary-laden onslaught, guiding a half-volley by Jasprit Bumrah through covers, all the while building his innings to a solid fifty. His constant innovation with shots, including the reverse sweep against Washington Sundar, continued to needle the Indian attack, carrying New Zealand beyond the 100-run milestone.
. Under Conway’s steadiness, the visitors seemed to have settled into a promising partnership until an errant attempt at a lofted drive against Ashwin’s deceptive half-tracker concluded Conway’s innings at 77, caught behind by the sharp Indian wicketkeeper.
The second session witnessed a tactical slowdown by India’s spinners Ashwin and Jadeja, opting for a slightly reduced pace that allowed for more grip and turn on a slowly wearing surface. They managed to keep the New Zealand batsmen wary, darting deliveries that whizzed past edges and collided against pads but could not induce the fatal error from Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell. The duo managed to compile a 59-run partnership, inching New Zealand forward despite their visible discomfort against the turning ball.
With about a quarter of an hour remaining in the session, Washington Sundar reclaimed the spotlight. His return to the attack proved pivotal as he outsmarted Rachin Ravindra who had up until then appeared the most settled. A delivery from Sundar that unexpectedly squared up Ravindra claimed the stumps, ending a promising knock that included a bravado six against Jadeja. In rapid succession, Tom Blundell fell prey to an inside edge that ricocheted off his pad into the stumps, reducing New Zealand from a comfortable 197 for 3 to a shaky 201 for 5.
The Pavilion End seemed cursed for New Zealand, as all five wickets that tumbled came from this particular end, each claimed by the duo of Indian off-spinners. As the day drew to a close, India appeared to have taken control, wrestling back the match’s narrative with Sundar’s timely interventions.
In summary, the match is positioned delicately with both teams holding distinctive advantages. New Zealand’s significant start, building on Conway and Ravindra’s resilience, has been clipped short, offering India a chance to capitalise. With Day 1’s play now behind them, the Indian team must keep the pressure on to maintain their grip on the game as they look ahead to exploiting more of the surface’s nuances in subsequent sessions.