NZ vs IND, Day 3: Indians on the back foot as hosts gain control

New Zealand fast bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee once again sent back the Indian top order to leave them reeling on Day 3 of the first Test match at Wellington. After conceding a lead of 183 runs in the first innings, the visitors were in dire need of a solid showing from their batters, but that was not how it panned as India were 144 for 4 at stumps, still needing 39 runs to close the lead.

Boult, who was returning from injury, made an impact with the bat earlier in the day as his quickfire 38 off 24 balls helped the Kiwis to a score of over 300. He was helped by Colin de Grandhomme, who made 43, and Kyle Jamieson, who pitched in with 44, to take New Zealand’s lead near 200. The Indians, however, would have hoped to clean up the tail in no time after they got the wicket of BJ Watling on the first ball of the day.

The Indian innings saw the batters getting tested, with Virat Kohli’s battle with Jamiseon being the highlight. The Indian skipper got off to a nervous start but soon grew in confidence, and gave nothing away to the debutant. At the other end, Mayank Agarwal too ducked under Southee’s bouncers but was outdone by a full ball.

In walked Ajinkya Rahane, and Kane Williamson introduced Boult into the attack, to build pressure on the batters. The pacer returned and took out Kohli with a bouncer from around the stumps as he looked to hook it away. The task of bailing India out once again fell on Rahane, and he found an able partner in Hanuma Vihari.

The duo batted out 118 balls together and added 31 runs, and were impressive as they defied a number of short balls that came their way. India’s hopes of salvaging the Test will now hinge on how the two face the threatening New Zealand pace bowlers in the first hour on Day 4.

Brief Scores: India 165 & 140/4 (Mayank Agarwal 58; Boult 3-27) trail New Zealand 348 (Kane Williamson 89, Ross Taylor 44, Kyle Jamieson 44; Ishant Sharma 5-68, Ravichandran Ashwin 3-99) by 105 runs