The first cricket Test between India and New Zealand resulted in a feverish contest on the last day at Kanpur, as New Zealand fought tooth and nail for an honourable draw with the tenth wicket pair holding forth strongly. India tried all tactics with fielders breathing on the batsmen neck and the bowlers trying to strike a blow. The Kiwis last pair stood firm and couldn’t be separated with 52 balls to go, Ravindra and Ajaz showed that fortune favours the brave and fought for a draw with conviction. In a way, Young’s controversial dismissal paved the way for poetic justice while saving New Zealand from the jaws of defeat.
At the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, as the battle royale began with India winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Mayank Agarwal and Shubnam Gill put up a healthy first wicket partnership. Mayank went on to score a stroke-filled 150 and not being satisfied with that, he also came out with a cameo: 62 runs. By now, Mayank had won the accolades of every cricket loving Indian. As the game progressed and with the fall of Gill’s wicket, the New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel unravelled his skill maintaining a good line and length, bowling with guile and beating almost every batsman with his flight and trajectory and also varying subtle pace. He dismissed Poojara and Kohli in no time after sending Gill back to the pavilion. For skipper Kohli who is out of form and got out lbw to Patel, the only relief for his dismissal came from the Australian spin legend Shane Warne who opined that the India’s captain was given out in a dubious way. Ajaz Patel had become unplayable pegging away his lethal deliveries to dismiss one batsman after the other. Patel’s stupendous bowling analysis read, after India’s innings, with staggering figures of 47.5-12-119-10. At the Wankhede, he had equalled the record set by the English spinner Jim Laker decades ago and later on also equalled by Anil Kumble’s 10 wicket haul. Patel’s match figure read an astounding 73.5-15-225-14 which was by any standards a herculean effort.
One would think that it is time, India spots a talented young left-arm pacer who needs to be a good batsman as well, since in many countries the fast bowlers are bowling 140-150 kmh giving batsmen no respite. Team India does not have reliable all-rounders who would not only score runs and take wickets but also pounce on the cricket balls while fielding and latch on to catches.
The Kiwi batsmen did not support the impressive wicket haul by Ajaz and timidly folded up for a meagre 62 runs. With this, Kohli had to face a new problem whether to enforce follow on or not. He decided that India would bat again and build up a substantial lead that would haunt the Kiwis. Kohli must have thought that by enforcing the follow on, the Test match would end quickly. He also might have had in mind, the ensuing trip to South Africa was not far away and his batsmen would also get much needed batting practice. He thought that if the match ended on the 4th or 5th day, India would win a few more points to add up to its better ranking. Thus India piled up 276-7 in quick time so that Kohli was able to declare the Innings closed.
New Zealand began their second knock on a submissive note and suffered early blows. It was Ashwin who, as in the first innings, bowled beautifully and with a sharp plan to grab four more wickets in the Kiwis second innings. Ashwin got 4-34 and Jayant’s 4-49 caused the rout of the opponents. Ashwin’s final figures read 8-42 and in the whole match, the spinners had an upper hand and claimed 33 wickets out of 36 from both the sides.
India re-wrote history by winning the second Test with the highest margin so far on Indian soil. The credit for India’s triumph should also go to Head Coach Rahul Dravid and BCCI Member VVS Lakshman. The duo are known for their great contribution to cricket in India with their stellar roles as batsmen of high order, integrity and commitment to the cause of the game. One might add in the interest of a healthy growth of the Board that no member should find a place other than on pure cricketing merit.
Any member attempting to sneak in with the help of those in power should be kept aside. Further, good news is that India after defeating the New Zealanders were able to retain the top spot on the men’s ICC Test Team Rankings!
This post was published on December 9, 2021 4:19 pm