New Zealand (barely) hold on to frustrate India in Kanpur

It wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t expected to be and yet here we are after five days of gruelling action in Kanpur, New Zealand have not just frustrated India but have held on to draw the Test. At the start of the day, the BlackCaps found themselves in the best of situations when Will Somerville and Tom Latham were battling it out against the spin test. 

Once Somerville was dismissed, the New Zealand middle-order crumbled under the pressure as Latham held on from the other end. But once the left-hander was beaten by Ravichandran Ashwin, it looked like a formality, as the Indian spinners sneaked in. 

“We were bowling in good areas, we knew we had time but light was always going to come into play in the last session. It happened every day of the match. Test cricket is not one of those formats where you come out and bowl good four overs,” muttered Ashwin in the aftermath of the Test. 

Rightly so, New Zealand hung on, they believed in themselves and the draw is a testimony of their endless pool of talent in a country with a population of just 50.8 lakhs. 

The Good Morning show ft. Somerville-Latham

The best thing that New Zealand would have hoped for when they woke up early in the morning was for the two batters, Tom Latham and Will Somerville, to continue their blockathon. And then they did better, they blocked, kept Indian bowlers away from the game and also scored boundaries at equal intervals to still give an outside chance for the BlackCaps to walk away with a win. 

Starting the day at 4/1, all hopes were stacked against them but in brilliant fashion, they overcame the initial struggle. Somerville, in particular, showed immaculate control, facing over 150 deliveries in the Test match, including facing over 100 deliveries in the second innings, under pressure. One particularly interesting statistic early on from the day suggested why the approach was immaculate. 

Out of the 22 overs bowled today, Indian bowlers have bowled only three maidens, meaning New Zealand batters made sure that the same batsmen are not facing all the six balls. Their partnership was such that they took the singles and ensured that Indian bowlers weren’t bowling to the same batter for a long period of time. 

Facing 31 deliveries, the two put on 75 runs in the first session, which started pulling the game away from the hosts’ hands. Going into lunch, New Zealand had effectively started taking India out of the contest, partly because of some bizarre tactics, including bowling too many overs of pace. 

India’s session of bizarre tactics

Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy on the fifth day was bizarre, after four overs of spin at the wee hours on day four. While Ravichandran Ashwin was at one end, the other end was Umesh Yadav, who conceded ten runs in his three overs, releasing the pressure that had seemingly built up from the spinner’s end. And when Umesh had conceded eight runs in his fourth over, Rahane handed the ball to Ishant Sharma to replace Umesh. 

Meanwhile, during the same time period, Ashwin had conceded just six runs off his five over-spell. If day four was indicative of the conditions and of India’s strength, the lack of Axar Patel in the first hour of the play certainly came to haunt India. When the left-arm spinner was introduced, it was in the 22nd over of the innings, an hour after the start of the day’s play. 

And ultimately, with Somerville and Latham being sturdy at the crease, even the multiple introduction and reintroduction of the spinners did not affect the partnership as they had already spent time understanding the conditions. 

The collapse post lunch

Once the first wicket of the day fell, Will Somerville, courtesy of Umesh Yadav’s short delivery, the inevitable New Zealand collapse was in order. India sensing the opportunity, applied pressure from either ends, bringing Ravichandran Ashwin back into the attack as Axar Patel got control of the ball. At 79/2, New Zealand were still in the game and had to prove that their middle-order could sustain the pressure from the Indian bowlers. 

However, it was the wicket of the well-set batter Tom Latham which proved to be fatal, with the southpaw undone by the low bounce, walking back after a vigilant 146-ball stay at the crease. Once the left-hander was undone, the right-hander club, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, were dismissed by the experience of Ravindra Jadeja, more than just the pitch and conditions.

Henry Nicholls continued to disappoint in this Test, with 2 and 1 in both the innings. New Zealand’s middle-order (3-6) in this Test, have scored 107 runs, lost eight wickets, averaged just 13.4 with the bat, putting the pressure on the lower-order. 

India, on the other hand, took the fullest advantage of the conditions on offer, to set the ball rolling in the second and third session of the day to leave New Zealand reeling, even when time and the light were stacked against them. From 118/3, the visitors crashed to a score of 138/7, which ultimately took the game away from their reach and hands. 

New Zealand survive the wave

At 138/7 in the 78th over, with over 12 overs left in the day, it looked like only a matter of time for India to wrap up yet another convincing win at home. But it wasn’t, it just wasn’t meant to be, as the trio of Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee and Ajaz Patel in collaboration with Rachin Ravindra, stuck by and held on.

Even though Southee’s review might not have been the best of decisions, it was integral to the game and the situation. A bowler who understands the nuances of the game, Southee understood that there was a need to delay the inevitable end, in an order to get a reprieve through bad light. If he meant it, it was a top-drawer stuff and if he didn’t, it still ended up as one. 

Nine overs, 54 deliveries, the pair of Ravindra-Ajaz took New Zealand to an unlikely of draw in Kanpur, in conditions were tough to bat, with or without lights. Test cricket at its best, New Zealand at its best and indeed, a classic contest of the highest order between two solid competitors, India and New Zealand. 

Brief Scores: New Zealand 165/9 (Tom Latham 52, Will Somerville 36; Ravindra Jadeja 4/40) and 296 draw India 345 and 234/7 dec