India beat New Zealand; dislodge Pak from No. 1 spot in ICC Test rankings
Mumbai: India beat New Zealand by 178 runs at Eden Gardens to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series.
Local lad Wriddhiman Saha was declared 'Man of the Match' for scoring two fifties in the Test. It was a special victory for India for various reasons; the hosts have begun their 13-Test long home season on the best note possible.
India have also reclaimed the top spot in the ICC Test rankings. What makes this all the more special is that they have dislodged Pakistan in the process.
The hosts started the day at 227/8 and added 36 runs more on Day 4. Wicketkeeper-batsman Saha continued his good form as he scored his second fifty of the match. Neil Wagner and Trent Boult took a wicket each this morning to wrap up the Indian innings for 263.
New Zealand made a solid start after they were asked to chase an improbable target of 376 runs. Tom Latham and Martin Guptill displayed maturity and patience to steer the Kiwis to 55 for no loss going into the lunch.
Ravichandran Ashwin broke the opening partnership immediately after the lunch as he dismissed Guptill for 24 in the 17th over.
Latham and Henry Nicholls mustered a 49-run partnership for the second wicket before Jadeja sent the latter packing. The remaining eight wickets fell for 93 runs, courtesy an impressive performance from the Indian bowling attack.
Ashwin and Jadeja combined to take six Kiwi wickets in the second innings, while pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami took four wickets together.
NZ: 197-all out 82 overs
Out! Shami picked up the last one. Boult top-edged the bouncer which was aimed at him. Murali Vijay, who was at the 1st slip, backtracked and grabbed the ball from the air. India win by 178 runs in Kolkata. Also, India climb to no. 1 in the ICC Test Rankings.
NZ: 192/9 from 77 overs
Out! Matt Henry is gone, Jadeja is the bowler. Outside off delivery, Henry popping one to Kohli at short extra cover, who catches it one-handed.
NZ: 188/8 from 73 overs
10 more overs left in the day's play. Umesh Yadav is on the field for Kohli, who's has left the pitch briefly. Ajinkya Rahane will lead the side in his absence.
NZ: 178/8 from 68 overs
Wicket! Bhuvneshwar joins the party. Poor shot from Jeetan Patel, tries to play the length delivery on the up, leaves a huge gap between the bat and the body. Reverse swing from the pitch and the off stump went flying.
NZ: 178/7 from 67 overs
Out! Jadeja to Ronchi, out bowled. Another wicket after another break. NZ have lost wickets almost after ever break.
NZ: 156/6 from 61 overs
Out! Watling bowled by Shami. Outstanding spell of fast bowling, the ball is reverse swinging for the local lad.
NZ: 154/5 from 59 overs
Wicket! Shami to Santner, out LBW. Change of bowling has done the trick for Kohli and India. It was a fullish delivery, came in from the outside angle. Santner failed to connect the ball with his bat and had to pay the price.
NZ: 141/4 from 54 overs
Out! Latham departs for 74. It was a beautiful delivery from Ashwin, little wide from Latham. The batsman tried to drive it and ended up nicking it to Saha
NZ: 135/3 from 52 overs
It's time for Tea. It was a good session for India. The hosts picked up three wickets in the 36 overs bowled in the session. NZ scored 80 runs during the same period and they still need 241 runs. Latham is looking good and has moved to 74. It was an extended session to make up for the overs lost on day two and three.
NZ: 126/3 from 47 overs
Ashwin was successful in inducing a leading edge from the bat of Latham, the ball went to short extra cover. However, a confusion between Kohli and Ashwin restricted India from getting another wicket.
NZ: 115/3 from 43 overs
Wicket! Ashwin to Taylor, out LBW. The ball just went straight on, Taylor was playing for the turn. Ashwin has got his second wicket of the innings
NZ: 113/2 from 40 overs
Another maiden over for Jadeja. Indian bowlers are keeping it very tight. Couple of close calls there against Latham but he survived. You can sense that a wicket is coming.
NZ: 104/2 from 35.5 overs
Wicket! Nicholls departs, Jadeja gets the breakthrough for India. Nicholls tried to drive Jadeja through the offside but ended up getting a thick outside edge, caught in slip by Rahane.
NZ: 96/1 from 32 overs
Fifty! Latham top edged that one but gets lucky as there was no one at backward square leg. The batsman picked up a run to reach a much deserved half-century.
NZ: 92/1 from 30 overs
New Zealand batsmen growing in confidence now. Indian bowlers need to be patient, the pitch has slowed down and is not offering much for the spinners.
NZ: 81/1 from 27 overs
Nicholls swept one for a four, Ashwin would not mind it. With uneven bounce on this surface there is always the danger of getting out.
NZ: 62/1 from 20 overs
Huge shout for LBW against Latham. The only thing that saved him there was that the ball had pitched outside off stump. The bowlers are now turning up the heat.
NZ: 55/1 from 17 overs
Out LBW! Offie Ashwin strikes straight after the lunch. The full delivery was crashing into the stumps and Guptill was trapped in front of the wickets. Probably lunch came at a wrong time for the Kiwi opener.
Mumbai: The NZ openers have made through to the lunch on Day 4 unscathed. Intriguing session of play. The pitch which behaved unpredictable till Day 3 seems to have settled down today. We still have a long way to go in this Test match, no need for Indian bowlers to panic. Hopefully, the upcoming session would be more fruitful for the hosts.
NZ: 55/0 from 16 overs
Lunch. The NZ dressing room would be really happy about their start in the 4th innings. The openers certainly have been lucky on few occasions but they have fought hard.
NZ: 49/0 from 15 overs
The Black Caps would have expected a hefty challenge from Indian bowlers. Ashwin and Jadeja are operating for India and the Kiwi batsmen have dealt with them comfortably.
NZ: 18/0 from 8 overs
Big shout for LBW against Guptill. The umpire, however, wasn't impressed. The replay shows there was no inside edge there. The full delivery by Shami hit the pads of the batsmen in front of the wicket. Guptill must be feeling very lucky out there.
NZ: 7/0 from 4 overs
Kiwi openers are batting cautiously, leaving everything they can. Shami has just finished his second maiden over. Gautam Gambhir is on the field as a substitute for Shikhar Dhawan.
New Zealand have to defy history and the odds to chase the improbable target of 376. Martin Guptill and Tom Latham have a tough challenge in front of them.
India: 263-all out from 76.5 overs
Out! Bout to Mohammed Shami, out caught by Tom Latham. There was some confusion over whether Latham took it cleanly or not in the gully, umpires went upstairs. After much deliberation it was given out.
India: 259/9 from 75 overs
Fifty for Saha! Second fifty for the wicketkeeper-batsman in the Test. He is also the 4th Indian wicketkeeper to score two fifties in a Test. MS Dhoni scored two fifties in a Test on 4 occasions.
India: 251/9 from 74 overs
Out! Bhuvneshwar Kumar departs, short ball did the trick for New Zealand. Bhuvi didn't look comfortable against that short ball by Neil Wagner, popping it to the short-leg. Henry Nicholls made no mistake there.
India: 249/8 from 70 overs
Solid start for India and they now lead by 361 runs. Kiwis would be looking to bring on a spinner as pacers have been unable to trouble Saha and Kumar.
India: 234/8 from 65 overs
Wriddhiman Saha is on strike and he is on 46. India have started off well here on the 4th day. The team would be looking to extend its lead.
Preview:
Welcome back. India will continue its pursuit of the ICC Test Rankings top spot today. A victory in Eden Gardens would allow India to reclaim the top spot from Pakistan.
India were standing at 227/8 from 63.2 overs at the end of 3rd day's play in Kolkata. The hosts have taken a lead of 339 runs and with Wriddhiman Saha (39) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8) still on the pitch, India would be hoping to extend their lead.
On Day 3, New Zealand resumed play on 128/7. While Jeetan Patel and BJ Watling frustrated the hometeam, R Ashwin broke the 60-run partnership by dismissing Patel before Mohammed Shami cleaned up the New Zealand innings.
Kiwis came back strong, they bowled brilliantly on day 3 to reduce India to 43/4. Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Mitchell Santner were the pick of the bowlers for the visiting team.
India were four wickets down within the first 13 overs of their innings. Captain Virat Kohli led India's revival with a good looking 45. The pair of Rohit Sharma and Saha did the maximum damage to NZ. Rohit made a stylish 82 on a topsy-turvy pitch.
Brief score:
