New Zealand gain edge on topsy-turvy day
At the start of the day, even before play began, it seemed like everything was going wrong for New Zealand. Kane Williamson, their best batsman and captain, pulled up ill, leaving Ross Taylor the captaincy duties. They had already suffered a spate of injuries on tour (James Neesham, Tim Southee and Mark Craig). To add to that, Taylor lost the toss as well. Nothing was going their way but they made some earnest changes in bringing back Matt Henry and flying in Jeetan Patel from England.
All they could hope for was something to go their way soon. That 'something' was the pitch.
The pitch at Eden Gardens was a fresh one on which a match hadn't been played. A lot of grass found its way out in the lead-up to the Test but still on the first day, New Zealand couldn't have felt more at home all tour. Trent Boult found swing, bounce and an irremovable smile from as early as the first over.
Matt Henry, set the tone as Shikhar Dhawan got an inside edge onto his stumps in just the second over. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara had the game and the patience to counter the conditions and they did so well for close to ten overs before Henry got Vijay edging behind. Henry was warned just before that ball and a slight change in angle had Vijay playing down the wrong line as well.
The arrival of Virat Kohli saw New Zealand attacking him with a well thought out plan. Kohli, the compulsive puller, was out to one such shot in the first innings at Kanpur. Here, coming in at 28/2, and with Neil Wagner pinging him with short balls, he went on the side of caution. The question remained as to how long he could continue doing this.
Pujara, at the other end, was putting away the loose balls and had enough boundaries to be comfortable blocking. Kohli was keen on ducking and swaying away for a long time before Boult delivered the sucker-punch. He had Kohli driving away from his body and a good catch at gully ended the Indian captain's stay. Twenty minutes before lunch, India were still not thinking runs but just about survival. What was that about strike-rate again?
Test cricket reminded everyone that it is a different game but an equally, and probably more, fascinating game. As the batsmen were kept on tenterhooks, every ball was a play that had to be watched closely and New Zealand were doing very well in making everyone do it. Mitchell Santner's role was to be tight and he did it deftly while Jeetan Patel's quick spinners were getting some bounce.
For Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, the only option was to bat out time. Now that this situation has risen so soon after the strike-rate talk is a mark of irony. India went into lunch at 57/3.
The two batsmen, though, knew how to milk the situation. With New Zealand operating to specific ploys, both were patient enough to counter them. The situation was crying out for smart batting. The pitch was losing sting as the sun shone, the ball was becoming softer and India just needed set batsmen to stay in until it became easier. The two of them did just that but were clever enough to keep picking the singles. While all the concentration was being shifted towards the bowling and how wickets would fall, the duo had added a fifty-run stand. This didn't come quickly, this wasn't in-your-face domination but it was the most important phase of play for India.
Pujara was stuck in the forties for a long while but didn't lose patience and soon got to his third fifty on the trot. He was on 58 when a close LBW call against Santner went his way. Rahane was on 33 when he skied Patel beyond the reach of mid on, but apart from these mistakes, the duo was pretty much spot on.
India went into Tea at 136/3. The second session was one full of graft, but more importantly they didn't lose a wicket in the session. The fight was on. Pujara was on 64, Rahane was on 47 at Tea. No runs were easy and these were as hardly fought for as any.
And after Tea came Rahane's fifty, as fluid as any on a difficult track, in a difficult situation and soon followed by the hundred partnership between the two. By now, New Zealand were already looking one way towards the second new ball. They were keeping things tight but the duo looked lesser and lesser likely to be dislodged. And in cases like these, runs come in bursts rather than being evenly spread. That burst came soon after Tea.
There were three maiden overs bowled on the trot but as the bowlers started to tire, Pujara and Rahane took them on. Few balls that were diligently left alone previously were deliberately driven or punched as the next four overs yielded 37 runs. But just when India were looking to race away with the game, Wagner had Pujara driving straight to short cover.
And then, one brought two. Rohit Sharma didn't expect a delivery from Jeetan Patel to bounce high and was out fending to short leg. Patel made it even better for New Zealand when he trapped Rahane in front for 77 with just two overs to go for the second new ball. But again, India tried to pull ahead with three fours and a six before Boult was brought back in.
R Ashwin and Saha tried to fend off the new ball that wasn't doing as much as it was in the first session. New Zealand needed a bit of luck to go their way and that came when Ashwin was adjudged LBW for 26. Under fading light, New Zealand pressed hard for more wickets but India finished with 239/7.
Neither team would be fully happy or otherwise about the day's play but for those who came to watch, there was plenty to savour.
All they could hope for was something to go their way soon. That 'something' was the pitch.
The pitch at Eden Gardens was a fresh one on which a match hadn't been played. A lot of grass found its way out in the lead-up to the Test but still on the first day, New Zealand couldn't have felt more at home all tour. Trent Boult found swing, bounce and an irremovable smile from as early as the first over.
Matt Henry, set the tone as Shikhar Dhawan got an inside edge onto his stumps in just the second over. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara had the game and the patience to counter the conditions and they did so well for close to ten overs before Henry got Vijay edging behind. Henry was warned just before that ball and a slight change in angle had Vijay playing down the wrong line as well.
The arrival of Virat Kohli saw New Zealand attacking him with a well thought out plan. Kohli, the compulsive puller, was out to one such shot in the first innings at Kanpur. Here, coming in at 28/2, and with Neil Wagner pinging him with short balls, he went on the side of caution. The question remained as to how long he could continue doing this.
Pujara, at the other end, was putting away the loose balls and had enough boundaries to be comfortable blocking. Kohli was keen on ducking and swaying away for a long time before Boult delivered the sucker-punch. He had Kohli driving away from his body and a good catch at gully ended the Indian captain's stay. Twenty minutes before lunch, India were still not thinking runs but just about survival. What was that about strike-rate again?
Test cricket reminded everyone that it is a different game but an equally, and probably more, fascinating game. As the batsmen were kept on tenterhooks, every ball was a play that had to be watched closely and New Zealand were doing very well in making everyone do it. Mitchell Santner's role was to be tight and he did it deftly while Jeetan Patel's quick spinners were getting some bounce.
For Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, the only option was to bat out time. Now that this situation has risen so soon after the strike-rate talk is a mark of irony. India went into lunch at 57/3.
The two batsmen, though, knew how to milk the situation. With New Zealand operating to specific ploys, both were patient enough to counter them. The situation was crying out for smart batting. The pitch was losing sting as the sun shone, the ball was becoming softer and India just needed set batsmen to stay in until it became easier. The two of them did just that but were clever enough to keep picking the singles. While all the concentration was being shifted towards the bowling and how wickets would fall, the duo had added a fifty-run stand. This didn't come quickly, this wasn't in-your-face domination but it was the most important phase of play for India.
Pujara was stuck in the forties for a long while but didn't lose patience and soon got to his third fifty on the trot. He was on 58 when a close LBW call against Santner went his way. Rahane was on 33 when he skied Patel beyond the reach of mid on, but apart from these mistakes, the duo was pretty much spot on.
India went into Tea at 136/3. The second session was one full of graft, but more importantly they didn't lose a wicket in the session. The fight was on. Pujara was on 64, Rahane was on 47 at Tea. No runs were easy and these were as hardly fought for as any.
And after Tea came Rahane's fifty, as fluid as any on a difficult track, in a difficult situation and soon followed by the hundred partnership between the two. By now, New Zealand were already looking one way towards the second new ball. They were keeping things tight but the duo looked lesser and lesser likely to be dislodged. And in cases like these, runs come in bursts rather than being evenly spread. That burst came soon after Tea.
There were three maiden overs bowled on the trot but as the bowlers started to tire, Pujara and Rahane took them on. Few balls that were diligently left alone previously were deliberately driven or punched as the next four overs yielded 37 runs. But just when India were looking to race away with the game, Wagner had Pujara driving straight to short cover.
And then, one brought two. Rohit Sharma didn't expect a delivery from Jeetan Patel to bounce high and was out fending to short leg. Patel made it even better for New Zealand when he trapped Rahane in front for 77 with just two overs to go for the second new ball. But again, India tried to pull ahead with three fours and a six before Boult was brought back in.
R Ashwin and Saha tried to fend off the new ball that wasn't doing as much as it was in the first session. New Zealand needed a bit of luck to go their way and that came when Ashwin was adjudged LBW for 26. Under fading light, New Zealand pressed hard for more wickets but India finished with 239/7.
Neither team would be fully happy or otherwise about the day's play but for those who came to watch, there was plenty to savour.
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