BENGALURU (WS News) – India were bowled out for 46 as New Zealand’s fast bowlers ran riot in overcast conditions on the second day of their rain-hit series opener on Thursday.
New Zealand then reached 82-1 under bright sunshine at tea for a lead of 36, as they look for a huge total to improve their chances of a first win over India in the country since 1988.
Devon Conway was batting on 61, with Will Young keeping him company on five not out.
It was India’s third-lowest innings tally in the longest format and their lowest at home since making 75 against the West Indies in New Delhi in 1987.
Matt Henry took 5-15 while William O’Rourke claimed 4-22.
India won the toss and opted to bat first under cloudy skies on the second day of the rain-hit opening test against New Zealand on Thursday.
The skipper did not last long at the crease as Tim Southee castled him with a delivery that nipped back in. The Black Caps then landed two more heavy blows by dismissing Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan for ducks in successive overs.
Kohli, in at number three after Shubman Gill was ruled out with injury, was caught at leg gully by a diving Glenn Phillips after O’Rourke delivered a ball that moved back in towards the veteran batsman’s ribcage.
Khan fell to Henry thanks to a stunning catch by Conway at mid-off, leaving the hosts teetering at 10-3.
DROPPED CHANCE
New Zealand could have had a fourth wicket shortly after a brief rain interruption but for some sloppy wicketkeeping by Tom Blundell, who dropped a simple chance and handed Rishabh Pant a lifeline when the left-hander was on seven.
Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was not as fortunate when a well-timed cut off O’Rourke went straight to Ajaz Patel, before the impressive paceman sent back KL Rahul for a duck.
Henry compounded India’s woes by removing Ravindra Jadeja for another duck, the fourth of the innings before lunch, and then added Ravichandran Ashwin to that list with the first ball after the break.
He then dismissed Pant for 20 before claiming his fifth victim of the innings and 100th of his test career by having Kuldeep Yadav caught at gully.
O’Rourke had earlier accounted for Jasprit Bumrah, with Henry taking a brilliant catch in the deep.
The crowd, who were earlier cheering when India’s lower-order batsmen played defensive shots, had little to celebrate in the afternoon with Tom Latham (15) the only New Zealand player to lose his wicket.
New Zealnd pacers cleaned up Indian top order in no time. India were 34 for 6 before the lunch.
Rohit Sharma was the first one to fall on two runs, Yashawi Jaiswal scored 13. Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ravichandran Ashwin went without scoring.
Kuldeep Yadav scored 2, Jasprit Bumrah 1 while Mohammad Siraj remained not out on 4.
Rishabh Pant was the highest scorer with 20 runs.
The first day’s action was called off without a ball being bowled due to rain with more bad weather expected this week.
India made two changes to their team, bringing in Sarfaraz Khan for injured batsman Shubman Gill and spinner Kuldeep Yadav for pace bowler Akash Deep.
“The pitch has been under the covers for a couple of days and we do understand it will be sticky to start with,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said.
“Keeping that in mind, we wanted to put runs on the board. It’s a tricky one because you lose the entire day and have four days to play. A lot can happen over the four days as well and you want to get the result as much as possible.”
New Zealand, under new permanent captain Tom Latham, are looking to win their first match against India since 1988. The tourists are without batting anchor Kane Williamson for the match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
They face a daunting task against India, who have won 18 consecutive series on home soil since a 2-1 defeat by England in 2012.
The Black Caps went with three seam bowlers in Tim Southee, William O’Rourke and Matt Henry, as they look to make the most of early overcast conditions.
