IND vs NZ 1st Test: Kiwi pace attack shatters India

Rohit Sharma & Co succumb to NZ pacers and are bowled out for 46 on second day of opening Test in Bangalore; visitors 180-3 at close

Gifted the chance to bowl first in conditions they are accustomed to back home, New Zealand’s pace bowlers destroyed India’s celebrated batting line-up on Thursday morning. Tim Southee started the carnage, but it was Matt Henry and William O’Rourke who did the bulk of the damage to send India crashing to their lowest Test total on home soil.

Candid Rohit

Rohit Sharma was man enough to admit that he had read the pitch wrong and owned up responsibility for the state his team find itself in after Day Two of the first Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The skipper himself was the first man dismissed after opting to bat as the clouds gathered after the toss and the pitch was spiced up and juicy, having spent much of the last three days under the covers.

NZ pacer Matt Henry celebrates an Indian wicket during his 5-15 yesterday. Pics/PTI

India face a long road back after being shot out for 46, their third-lowest Test score, in an embarrassing batting display that was exacerbated by excellent discipline from the Kiwi quicks and wonderful all-round catching close in, inside the imaginary 30-yard circle and in the outfield, where Henry pulled off a screamer running nearly 25 yards to his left from long-leg. That catch rounded off a wonderful day out for the 32-year-old, whose fourth five-wicket haul also took him to 100 wickets in his 26th Test.

Having made the most of the best bowling conditions of the day, the New Zealand batters then made merry in the best batting conditions too with Devon Conway leading the charge with a power-packed, free-flowing innings. Until he fell to an ill-advised reverse-sweep against R Ashwin, the left-handed opener looked in supreme control on his way to a 105-ball 91. He added 67 for the first wicket with skipper Tom Latham and 75 for the next with Will Young, Kane Williamson’s replacement, to ensure that New Zealand ended the day on a high, 134 ahead after reaching 180 for three when bad light stopped play.

Also Read: New Zealand in driver's seat after bundling out India for embarrassing 46

The light was hardly a factor when, after Wednesday’s washout, play began at the revised start time of 9:15 am. India’s decision to bring Kuldeep Yadav in as the third spinner instead of paceman Akash Deep almost dictated that they bat first, but the folly of that call became apparent right from the off, with the ball jagging around generously on a grassless surface.

Gill’s unavailability

Shubman Gill’s unavailability with a stiff neck forced a rejig of the batting order with Virat Kohli slotting in at No. 3, Sarfaraz Khan batting at No. 4 and KL Rahul continuing to man the No. 6 position. All three were dismissed without scoring — India registered five ducks, the joint second most in their Test journey — with only opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant touching double digits.

Henry was relentless while O’Rourke, all of six feet and six inches, worked up good bounce and generated considerable lift to leave the hosts in tatters. For India to wend their back into the game from this position will take little short of a miracle.

Brief scores
India 46 all out (R Pant 20; M Henry 5-15, W O’Rourke 4-22) v NZ 180-3 (D Conway 91, W Young 33; R Jadeja 1-28)

How they fell

How India succumbed for 46, their lowest Test total at home, losing 10 wickets in the space of 25 overs after openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal played out 6.2 overs.

6.3 overs
Rohit Sharma (b Southee 2)
The Indian skipper steps out, but the swinging ball crashes onto his stumps. 9 for 1

8.6
Virat Kohli (c Phillips b O’Rourke 0)
O’Rourke, with his height, finds extra bounce as the ball clips the top of Kohli’s glove. Phillips, positioned at leg gully, dives forward to take a clean catch. 9 for 2

9.4
Sarfaraz Khan (c Conway b Henry 0)
Sarfaraz counterattacks, aiming to hit it down the ground, but Conway pulls off a stunning catch at mid-off.
10 for 3

20.5
Yashasvi Jaiswal (c Patel b O’Rourke 13)
Jaiswal cuts a short, wide delivery, but Ajaz dives low at point to pull off a brilliant catch. 31 for 4

22.4
KL Rahul  (c Blundell b O’Rourke 0)
’Keeper Blundell latches on to a deflection for KL to walk back with a duck to his name at his home ground. 33 for 5

23.5
Ravindra Jadeja (c Patel b Henry 0)
Jadeja attempts a flick, but the ball goes high and lands in the hands of point. 34 for 6

23.6
Ravichandran Ashwin (c Phillips b Henry 0)
A good-length delivery just outside off-stump forces Ashwin to play, offering an easy catch to gully.
34 for 7

25.3
Rishabh Pant (c Latham b Henry 20)
Henry delivers a length ball which takes the edge of Pant’s bat and goes straight to Latham at second slip. 
39 for 8

26.2
Jasprit Bumrah (c Henry b O’Rourke 1)
Bumrah top-edges the ball towards deep square leg for Henry to pull off a fine sliding catch. 40-9

31.2
Kuldeep Yadav (c sub MG Bracewell b Henry 2)
Henry bowls a length delivery and Kuldeep punches it to gully where Bracewell dives and takes a lovely catch. 46-10

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