Follow UsAfter a forgettable Day 2, India began the third day’s play on a spirited note in the Bengaluru Test. The Indian bowlers picked 4/53 in the first hour of play, instigating hopes of a comeback by keeping New Zealand’s lead under 200.
However, Rachin Ravindra and Tim Southee had other plans. The duo added 137 runs off only 132 balls for the eighth wicket to diminish India’s chances. It is the highest eighth-wicket stand against India in India in Tests, surpassing Sir Viv Richards and Keith Boyce’s feat (124) in 1974.
Southee scored 65 off 73 balls, his first overseas Test fifty in 10 years, and Rachin Ravindra amassed his second Test ton, scoring 134 off 157.
As a result, New Zealand stretched their lead to 356 when Ravindra was out as the final wicket.
It is the second biggest lead conceded by India in a Test match at home in the 21st century. In 2008 in Ahmedabad, India conceded a 418-run lead in the first innings when they were bowled out for 76 batting first. In response, South Africa plundered 494 runs on the board with hundreds from AB de Villiers (217) and Jacques Kallis (132). India lost the game by an innings and 90 runs.
Overall, it is the fourth biggest lead conceded by India in a home Test. The record on that parameter belongs to West Indies when they mounted a 490-run lead in Kolkata in 1958. Batting first, West Indies hammered 614/5d with Rohan Kanhai (256), Basil Butcher (103) and Sir Garry Sobers (106*) notching up hundreds. India could only manage 124 and 154 (following on) in response, losing by an innings and 336 runs.
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