Big fat Indian ending?

NZ stare at one of their heaviest defeats in Tests after India’s R Ashwin claims three of the five second-innings wickets; Ajaz adds four scalps to his incredible Perfect 10

New Zealand arrived for the Mumbai Test with hopes of registering their second Test win at the Wankhede Stadium after a fighting draw at Kanpur.

However, all those hopes are likely to be crushed today as the visitors stare at one of their heaviest defeats in Test cricket. World No. 1 New Zealand are 400 runs away from chasing an improbable target of 540 after finishing Day Three at 140-5 in response to India’s 276-7 declared on Sunday. 

‘There’s enough time’

“I won’t call it a delay [in declaration] as there is so much time left in the game. The idea was to bat as long as possible as you don’t get this kind of a situation every day. So, the plan was to make the most of it. We were trying to explore various options,” Axar Patel said at the end of the third day’s play. 

India’s Axar Patel (centre) celebrates the fall of NZ’s Daryl Mitchell on Day Three of the second Test at the Wankhede yesterday. Pic/AFP

The Kiwi batters once again found it difficult to negotiate Ravichandran Ashwin (3-27).

Although they put on a far better show than their first innings’ 62 all out, it will require a monumental effort to get out of this situation. 

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The Indian offie had NZ skipper Tom Latham (6) and opener Will Young (20) caught at short leg before dismissing Ross Taylor, whose aggressive approach backfired. Daryl Mitchell (60) and Henry Nicholls (36 not out) put on a 73-run stand for the fourth wicket before Axar (1-42) dismissed the former. The run out of Tom Blundell made matters worse for the visitors. 

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel was once again the only cheer factor for the Kiwis. Four wickets in the second Indian innings helped Ajaz finish with 14-225 to register best-ever Test figures by any bowler against India. Ajaz claimed one wicket more than England’s Ian Botham (13-106), who ruled the 1980 Test match at Wankhede. Ajaz’s figures are the second-best Test analysis by a New Zealand bowler after Sir Richard Hadlee. 

This time, though, Rachin Ravindra claimed three wickets to steal some of the limelight from Ajaz. “It was pretty funny because we thought he was going to take all 20. They congratulated me for taking my first wicket. That first wicket [of Shubman Gill] was very special,” said Ravindra. 

Indian openers Mayank Agarwal (62) and Cheteshwar Pujara (47) provided a rollicking start to the day’s play with 30 runs in the first five overs. However, Tim Southee unleashed a barrage of short balls with as many as seven fielders on the leg side. When Ajaz claimed the first three wickets of the Indian second innings. But Ravindra dismissed Shubman Gill (47), skipper Virat Kohli (36) and Wriddhiman Saha (13) post the tea break. 

Axar’s onslaught

However, some lusty blows from Axar (41 not out off 26 balls) brought the Wankhede crowd on its feet. “This has been a dream year for me. The way I bowled in the England series [at home] and now how the New Zealand series panned out…in between there was the IPL too, so I can say that this has really been a good year for me. My endeavour is to keep improving and look at areas where I need to get better. All the hard work that I have put in all these years have finally yielded results this year,” said Axar.

Brief scores
India 325 & 276-7decl (M Agarwal 62, C Pujara 47, Gill 47; Ajaz 4-106, R Ravindra 3-56) v NZ 62 & 140-5 (D Mitchell 60, H Nicholls 36*, R Ashwin  3-19)

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