TALKING POINTS
Follow UsAt the end of day two’s play, New Zealand were drained out, they not only fielded for most part of the day but were also shot out cheaply, making the climb steep. If day two gave them that experience, the third day of play put them in complete jitters. India came out to bat with intent, as Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara wanted to add to their overnight score.
It was evidently visible, as the duo stepped down multiple times against the threat of Ajaz Patel and Will Somerville to gather quick runs. On the other hand, they showed immaculate technique against the pacers, Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee – tackling the short deliveries. Mayank, in particular took the challenge head on, with some swift and nifty footwork against the spinners, bringing up his half-century in style.
Pujara, on the other hand, got to a good start before the runs started drying up at his end before he eventually succumbed to Ajaz. How did the day go?
Mayank Agarwal’s intent puts him back on map
Ahead of the second Test, had there been no injuries to either of Ravindra Jadeja or Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal was the top contender to be replaced from the batting unit. However, once he got the second opportunity, there was no looking back. Mayank emulated Shreyas Iyer, who scored a hundred in the first innings and a fifty in the second innings (first Test) with a similar knock in Mumbai.
Mayank Agarwal follows up his brilliant hundred in the first innings with a fifty.
— ICC (@ICC) December 5, 2021
Can he convert it into triple figures?#WTC23 | #INDvNZ | https://t.co/EdvFj8QtKD pic.twitter.com/zxPDLxRIMB
After his 150 in the first innings, the Karnataka opener in the second innings, scored a frolic 62, off 108 deliveries, taking on the New Zealand bowlers with confidence. Unlike the first Test, there was very little evidence in the second Test to suggest that the right-hander was struggling, hence booking himself a place in the Indian squad for the series against South Africa
Shubman Gill – India’s future No.3?
If Mayank’s knock put immense pressure on the New Zealand bowlers, Shubman Gill’s attacking knock took the game completely away from the hands of the Blackcaps. Against pace, Gill’s weakness has been well noted, with an average of 26.5, scoring runs at 54.7. However, against spin in his career, the numbers are substantially better, averaging 68.3, while striking the ball at 61.6.
Why would he be perfect as No.3? With India’s struggle in finding a suitable replacement for Pujara, who isn’t in the best of forms, slotting Gill in the middle-order is a viable strategy. But with the way Shreyas Iyer has taken his opportunity, at No.5, it almost takes Gill out of the equation as an eventual replacement at No.5.
What tilts the case in Gill’s favour, at No.3, is the fact that he has been an opener in the longest format for India, which makes him not the worst option against new ball. His ability against spin, which more often than not makes up a large chunk of overs in the middle phase, is ultimately his strength. Against spin, the right-hander averages 68.3, striking at 61.6 and as he bats at home, the average increases to 82.5, making him a prime option at No.3, for the long run.
Ravichandran Ashwin continues to impress
With Axar Patel picking up a fifer in the first Test, the focus and the limelight quickly shifted away from the Indian off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, who went past Harbhajan Singh’s tally of most wickets in the longest format. But the second Test once again brought the off-spinner back into the limelight, thanks to his quality bowling across both the innings. In the first innings, Ashwin stuck to his strengths and bowled stump to stump, forcing the batters to take the risk, to find the runs that were evidently not offered.
In the second innings, it was spin bowling at its best. Ashwin showed exactly why is he revered as the best off-spinner in world cricket and showed what exactly makes him stand-out. Against the left-handed Tom Latham, the veteran got the ball to go multiple times past his edge before bringing one back onto his pads, catching him in front. The setup, the dismissal and everything around that – brilliant.
Against the two right-handed batters – Will Young and Ross Taylor – it was more of a yesteryear off-spinner in play. Ashwin got the ball to sharply turn past Young’s bat, catching the slightest of his bat’s edge, on the way to Suryakumar Yadav. Before that delivery, the off-spinner had got the ball to do all sort of things against Young.
To Taylor, the plan was simple, to make him commit a mistake. That’s exactly what the right-hander did, jumping the gun and smacking the ball straight into the hands of the leg-slip fielder Cheteshwar Pujara. It was Ashwin’s fourth year picking up 50 Test wickets in a calendar year, the most amongst Indians, going past Harbhajan and Kumble.
Ross Taylor’s torrid time against spin
Prior to the series, in our preview for the first Test, we highlighted Ross Taylor’s weakness against spinners. The entire series has panned out in the same possible manner for the right-hander, who has gone from showing weakness against spin to being tormented by spinners. His average (5) in four innings is the second-worst average for the right-hander in a bilateral Test series, only behind his 1.5 against South Africa.
#QuickByte: Worst averages for Ross Taylor in a bilateral series
— Cricket.com (@weRcricket) December 5, 2021
vs SA (2016) (A) - 1.5 in 3 innings
vs IND (2021) (A) - 5 in 4 innings🤯
vs SA (2007) (A) - 11 in 4 innings
vs ENG (2018) (H) - 11.7 in 3 innings
vs BAN (2008) (A) - 13.3 in 3 innings#INDvsNZ | #RossTaylor pic.twitter.com/osYKV2NzOm
He has been dismissed once every 15.5 deliveries in the series, with three of his four dismissals coming against spin. Against the spinners, the right-hander averages 3.67, with 85.10% of the balls he faced being dot deliveries. Facing the 47 deliveries, he has scored just the 11 runs, which shows that his struggle against spinners was evidently visible. Not the best series for the BlackCaps No.4.
Brief Score: New Zealand 62 all out and 140/5 (Daryl Mitchell 60, Henry Nicholls 36*; Ravichandran Ashwin 3/27) need 400 runs to win against India 325 all out and 276/7 dec (Mayank Agarwal 62, Shubman Gill 47; Ajaz Patel 4/106)