Williamson Latham Extend New Zealand's Dominance

Two reprieves notwithstanding, Kane Williamson and Tom Latham stitched together an unbeaten stand of 117 for the second wicket - the highest partnership for New Zealand in Kanpur - to take the visitors to 152 for 1 at Tea and extend their dominance over the hosts on Friday (September 23).

While batting on 39, Williamson was thoroughly beaten by an R Ashwin delivery that rose sharply and hit the back of his helmet. That resulted in one of the flaps at the back of the head gear to fall off and hit the stumps. Much to India's horror, the bails did not get dislodged and Williamson survived. Four overs later, Latham was extremely lucky not to walk back to the hut three short of a half-century, when his attempted sweep off Ravindra Jadeja was taken by KL Rahul at forward short leg.

Latham's shot was angled towards the ground, prompting Richard Kettleborough to refer it to the TV umpire. Replays showed that the ball had risen off Latham's front boot. However, Rahul juggled the ball in his attempt to catch it, and after several replays, it was concluded that there was sufficient contact between the ball and the strap of Rahul's helmet. The TV umpire took his time and ruled in favour of the batsman. While batting on 57, Williamson also seemed to have survived a caught behind call, the replays of which suggested a faint noise - perhaps from the bottom of the bat. In his defense, snickometer did not show a deviation.

Such had been India's fortune in the session, as they constantly went up in appeal in the second half, only to be turned down on each occasion. There were also a couple of edges that fell agonisingly short of the slip fielder or went flying beyond a diving fielder's reach.

Despite all these moments that nearly gave India a breakthrough, the session belonged to the two batsmen who steered the visitors to a position of strength. Resuming after lunch on 71 for 1, it was key for New Zealand to ensure they didn't make the mistakes of their opponents and threw away a promising start. India had nosedived towards the end of the second session after a typically-dominated start on Day 1.

In search of a breakthrough, Kohli opted to employ Jadeja and Mohammad Shami in tandem, but Latham and Williamson seemed assured at the crease. Despite the early threat, Williamson put his Test credentials on display, playing expertly against spin bowling. Kohli even turned to Ashwin, but his star spinner also drew a blank against the New Zealand pair that soon brought up half-centuries. The little takeaway for the hosts, as they rushed back to the pavilion at team, was the fact that they managed to garner a handful of nervy moments towards the end of the session.

Earlier in the day, India finished on 318, courtesy a nagging partnership between Ravindra Jadeja and Umesh Yadav inside the first hour of play in the morning session. Williamson had to take a tough decision and pick between either setting aggressive fields and spreading it out, in his team's quest for the final wicket. The frustration for New Zealand endured on for 27 runs, until a bowling change brought about the wicket. Neil Wagner dismissed Yadav, but Jadeja's brisk 42 ensured India had dragged their feet to a decent total.

Rain also arrived at tea, and the entire ground was covered, leaving little chance of play in the final session. After a long wait an inspection, play was called off without a single ball being played in the third session. Play is expected to start 15 minutes earlier on Day 3.