IND Vs NZ 1st Test: The mini-series between India and New Zealand is at a crucial stage. The first Test lies in the balance as India have a lead on Day 4, but the pitch has been constantly deteriorating.
It won't be easy to play shots for batsmen on the concluding days of the Test match as the dry pitch at Kanpur has been showing constant signs of having uneven bounce that is puzzling the batsmen.
New Zealand lost their last 9 wickets for 99 runs, which shows how difficult it will become to score runs as the day progresses. Indian batsmen will try to be patient and score as many runs on Day 4.
As of now, India is 14/1 in the second innings with a lead of 63 runs. Shubman Gill lost his wicket to Kyle Jamieson for just 1 run. Earlier on Day 3, Axar Patel and Ravi Ashwin spun a web around Kiwi batsmen, as they picked up 8 out of 10 wickets. Axar, in fact, picked up a five-wicket haul.
What India would want ideally, is to score at least 200 more runs till the end of Day's play today and then pose a challenging score close to 300 for NZ to chase. As the trajectory of Kanpur pitch goes, it has not been easy chasing on Day 5 at this ground.