Half centurion Vihari says green Hagley Oval surface was quite fair as India squander decent start to be bowled out for 242
India's Hanuma Vihari pulls one en route his 55 against New Zealand on Saturday. Pics/AFP, Getty Images
India suffered twin blows before the start of the second Test—losing Ishant Sharma [ankle injury] and the toss once again not favouring skipper Virat Kohli.
ADVERTISEMENT
Despite losing opener Mayank Agarwal (7) early on in the innings, Prithvi Shaw delighted the crowd with some classical drives as he raced to his half century in 61 balls. However, a loose shot and stunning one-handed catch from Tom Latham at second slips led to Shaw's dismissal on 54. Soon Kohli was trapped by his nemesis Tim Southee, who dismissed the Indian skipper for the 10th time in his career.
From 80-1, India were 113-4 and could have been 134 for five had wicketkeeper Bradley-John Watling pouched Hanuma Vihari when on nine.
"They bowled in good areas and knew what to expect from this track. Prithvi set the tone; [Cheteshwar] Pujara spent time, but the dismissals happened at the wrong time. The dismissals were because of batsmen's errors. None of them were because of the pitch. It was a fair pitch," said Vihari, who was one of three half centurions in the Indian innings.
NZ pacer Kyle Jamieson (centre) celebrates an Indian wicket on Saturday
Post tea, India were blown away by Kyle Jamieson's spell of 4-2-10-4 with the last five wickets adding just 48 runs. From 194-4, India were 242 all out in 63 overs.
"I think Neil Wagner getting that wicket [of Vihari] right before the tea break was massive," Jamieson said after taking his maiden five-wicket haul in a Test match. "They had a couple of set batters and then things just seemed to roll my way. But I think collectively, we were pretty good today and I was just lucky to get the rewards for it," said the tallest-ever Kiwi pacer.
For the record, the green top at Hagley Oval did not have any demons as New Zealand openers ended the day at 63 for no loss.
Brief scores
India 242 (H Vihari 55, P Shaw 54, C Pujara 54; K Jamieson 5-45, T Southee 2-38, T Boult 2-89) v New Zealand 63-0 (T Blundell 29*, T Latham 27*)
Live on tv Today
NZ v India, Day Two: Star Sports 1, SS 1 Hindi & HD, 04:00 onwards
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
