Tea New Zealand 201 for 5 (Mitchell 16*, Ashwin 3-48, Washington 2-34) vs India
India called up a second offspinner from outside the squad ostensibly to lengthen their batting without compromising on taking the ball away from left-hand batters; the said offspinner combined with the existing offspinner to drag New Zealand back even though two left-hand batters scored half-centuries to pull ahead.
On a pitch with much less bounce, batters could commit forward against the quicks, who anyway didn’t find any movement off the surface. Ashwin’s introduction brought India immediate success, but India didn’t really create chances from both ends for long enough to take quick wickets. Every now and then, though, the ball turned from the non-roughed-up parts of the pitch, just like Washington did to go past Ravindra, which suggested batting last was not going to be easy.
Nothing is ever easy in Test cricket, but this was one of the easier starts to an innings with the openers racing to 30 in seven overs without any trouble. It took Ashwin just five balls to drift one in and then turn it past the outside edge to trap Tom Latham lbw.
This ball turned from the straight, but the turn wasn’t yet consistent or threatening. Conway managed to sweep well, and also picked runs off the back foot as Ashwin and Washington Sundar bowled with in-out fields. Twenty of his 76 runs came through sweeps and reverse-sweeps.
Post-lunch, when India started with Jasprit Bumrah and Washington, runs came freely: 35 off the eight overs. Ashwin then brought control first and then the wicket of Conway. Again the ball turned, but this time it was the drift and dip that put Conway out of position, and the turn made him look like pushing at a ball he didn’t need to play.
Ravindra, Player of the Match in Bengaluru, brought New Zealand much-needed solidity because Daryl Mitchell was extremely uncertain at the start of his innings. He survived an lbw on umpire’s call, played risky sweeps of both kinds, and only looked comfortable after 20 balls or so.
Ravindra, though, gave the bowlers nothing. Akash Deep got close to getting him with at short midwicket but the hit was too ferocious to catch for a fielder so close. An outside edge after two bouncers managed to beat slip and brought up his fifty.
Given a third spell just before tea, Washignton found turn from middle and off to take the top of off. Things began to happen now, and Washington, perhaps guilty of being too quick at times, slowed it down to drag Blundell wide and turn the ball in for the classic offspinner’s dismissal.
