LIVE SCORE | INDIA vs NEW ZEALAND | 2ND TEST | DAY 3
EDEN GARDENS, KOLKATA
FULL SCORECARD
Earlier in the day, the Kiwi tailenders did well to take their total past the 200-run mark. Shami cleaned up their lower order and finished with three wickets. In reply, India lost early wickets and were reduced to 43/4 at one stage. Trent Boult and Matt Henry bowled well but Virat Kohli counter-attacked. His innings was cut short too but Rohit Sharma rose to the occasion and India put in commanding position in the end. Saha scored some handy runs too in the end as he hit an unbeaten 39.
Exciting day of Test cricket comes to an end! India will go back happily as they have a lead of 339 runs on the board. Rohit Sharma was brilliant with the bat as he played a superb knock under circumstances. India were in a spot of bother at one stage in this innings but they were never in trouble match situation wise. In the end, they are in driver's seat now and dictating terms.
INDIA (2nd innings)
SESSION 3...
STUMPS: It's gone really dark and the umpires take the reading and it doesn't look enough. That should be it for the day then as the players walk back to the dressing room. India are 227 for 8 in second innings, lead New Zealand by 339 runs.
61 overs: India 215/8. Ravindra Jadeja 6 (4), Wriddhiman Saha 35 (83).
60.6 overs: WICKET! Santner dishes out a fuller ball on middle and off and Jadeja goes for another big shot over the leg side. He gets into the position to slog but misses it completely. He gets a top edge and the ball flies towards short fine leg where Neesham (sub) takes an easy catch. Another wicket for Santner. Ravindra Jadeja c sub (JDS Neesham) b Santner 6 (4b 0x4 1x6).
60.2 overs: WICKET! Tossed up outside off, spins away a touch, Rohit covers the line and tries to defend but gets a faint outside edge to the keeper behind. Rohit Sharma c Ronchi b Santner 82 (132b 9x4 2x6).
49.2 overs: Well played! On the pads, Rohit paddles it to the fine leg region. The fielder tries his best but fails to stop the ball. Rohit gets a boundary and that brings up his fifty as well. Terrific knock under circumstances. 6th Test fifty for Rohit Sharma.
40 overs: India 143/6. Wriddhiman Saha 17 (32), Rohit Sharma 36 (61).
39.4 overs: It's a SIX! Trent Boult to Rohit Sharma. Short and outside off, Rohit swivels and pulls it over square leg for half a dozen! The lead now goes past 250!
35 overs: India 125/6. Rohit Sharma 22 (47), Wriddhiman Saha 13 (16).
SESSION 2...
TEA: Terrific session for New Zealand and had they not conceded a lead in excess of 100 runs, they would have been in the driver's seat. It was a brilliant bowling show by the Kiwis after lunch and once again Matt Henry led the pack. The Indian top order was dismantled in a flash and then the 48-run stand between Kohli and Rohit came. It was an unfortunate dismissal for the Indian skipper as a ball from Boult stayed low and rapped him on the pads, while Ravichandran Ashwin failed to contribute with the bat. India 110 for 6 in 31 overs. Wriddhiman Saha 4 (3b 1x4 0x6), Rohit Sharma 20 (36b 0x4 1x6).
30.3 overs: WICKET! India lose their 6th! Ashwin is not happy. Was there an inside edge? Flighted around middle and off, Ashwin comes forward to defend but misses and is hit on the pads. Santner appeals and the umpire raises his finger! Ashwin walks back disappointed. Angry, rather. Kohli looks shell-shocked in the dressing room. However, replays show the ball hitting the pad first, then the inside edge. Good decision in the end. Ravichandran Ashwin lbw b Santner 5 (23b 0x4 0x6).
23.6 overs: WICKET! Kohli is adjudged lbw! Unlucky for the Indian skipper as it stayed low. After bowling a barrage of deliveries in the zone outside off, Boult changes his angle and sprints in from around the wicket. He angles in a fuller length ball around off, Kohli tries to defend but it stays agonizingly low to go past the bottom part of his bat and hit him on the pads. The bowler turns back in appeal and is all pumped up as the finger goes up. The impact also looked to be a shade outside off and it was a marginal call from the umpire. Big scores are refusing to come from the bat of Kohli. Virat Kohli lbw b Boult 45 (65b 7x4 0x6).
20 overs: India 89/4. Rohit Sharma 14 (14b 0x4 1x6), Virat Kohli 44 (47b 7x4 0x6).
13.1 overs: WICKET! The short ball has consumed Rahane. Landed around off, Rahane goes for the pull but gets a top edge. The ball swirls in the air hovers near deep backward square leg. The man from short mid-wicket moves to his right but then Trent Boult comes running in from the deep, calls clearly and takes the catch with ease. Rahane is not happy with himself. India are in a spot of bother with their score reading 43/4 but add the 112-run lead and they are still in a comfortable position. Ajinkya Rahane c Boult b Henry 1 (5b 0x4 0x6).
10.5 overs: WICKET! India have lost their third wicket! Excellent bowling from Boult. Keeps this on a length targetting the stumps, Dhawan stays back to defend but is late in getting his bat down. He is hit on the pads and Boult appeals. The finger is up straightaway. Shikhar Dhawan lbw b Boult 17 (32b 4x4 0x6). INDIA 146/3.
10 overs: India 33/2. Dhawan 17 (30b 4x4 0x6), Kohli 4 (8b 0x4 0x6), Henry 5-1-19-2, Boult 5-2-13-0.
7.5 overs: WICKET! Pujara is adjudged lbw! Henry comes up with another full delivery which nips back into the batsman after landing around middle and off. Pujara this time fails to flick it on the leg side and is rapped on the pads. They appeal and the finger goes up this time. Well, that looked to be missing leg but umpire Kettleborough has other ideas. India in some early spot of bother. Cheteshwar Pujara lbw b Henry 4 (7b 1x4 0x6).
5.4 overs: WICKET! Good low catch by Guptill! Henry hurls a length delivery around off and gets it to straighten a touch, Vijay could have left it alone but he has a needless push inside the line without any footwork. It takes the outside edge and flies towards second slip. The ball is dying in front of the fielder but Guptill does well to get down low and cups it safely with both hands. Murali is not very happy with his attempted shot and walks back shaking his head. Murali Vijay c Guptill b Henry 7 (15b 1x4 0x6).
Welcome back. The players are striding out to the middle. Matt Henry to run in first up...
SESSION 1...
Another good session for India! They managed to bowl out the Kiwis and then negotiated the tricky little period when they came out to bat. Shami did the damage with the ball today but that was after a handy knock by Jeetan Patel. India are sitting comfortably with a 124-run lead so far and have all their 10 wickets in hand.
India would probably look to bat the whole day now and it will be interesting to see how Dhawan bats. He's battling out hard as he took some blows and is badly out of form. Let's see how the Kiwis come back in the second session which is usually good for batsmen. Join us back in a bit to catch the action.
LUNCH: India 12 for no loss. Shikhar Dhawan 4 not out, Murali Vijay 7 not out.
NEW ZEALAND (1st innings)
You won't see this much often, so treasure this scorecard. On an Indian pitch, which is supposed to assist spin, seamers have taken 8 wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar swung the game last evening, with 3 wickets in the space of 18 balls, thereby taking a 5-fer. Shami did the cleanup job this morning, removing Watling and Wagner. He ended up with 3 wickets. Jadeja and Ashwin finished with a wicket apiece. They might have a different story to tell in the final innings.
A big lead for India but excellent fightback from the Kiwis. They were trailing by 188 last evening and considering that they had only 3 wickets in hand, to add 76 runs is a very good effort. Jeetan Patel and Bradley Watling frustrated the Indians this morning, adding 60 for the 8th wicket, helping New Zealand cross 200.
New Zealand 204 all out. INDIA GET A LEAD OF 112.
52.6 overs: WICKET! Mohammed Shami to Neil Wagner, OUT! LBW! Shami takes the last wicket. It was landed on a good length, around leg, Wagner looked to defend but the ball skidded on and beat the bat to hit the pad. Shami appealed and the umpire raised his finger. Oh dear... replays show that the ball pitched outside leg. Tough luck. N Wagner lbw b Mohammed Shami 10 (18b 0x4 1x6).
50.2 overs: WICKET! Mohammed Shami to Bradley Watling, OUT! LBW! Watling's vigil is over. Full and straight, guess the ball swung a bit, Watling was late in getting his bat down, being defeated by the movement and was hit on the pads. Shami appealed and the umpire raised his finger. Watling hurries off the field. Perhaps he does not think the last wicket stand will last much. BJ Watling lbw b Mohammed Shami 25 (67b 3x4 0x6).
47.1 overs: WICKET! Ravichandran Ashwin to Jeetan Patel, OUT! Ashwin strikes first ball! What was that from Jeetan Patel though? It's a fullish delivery outside off, Patel tries to hit it down the ground but mistimes it completely. The ball goes high up in the air and Shami gets under it by running to his right from mid off. Smile on Kohli and Ashwin's face. Jeetan Patel departs after a run-a-ball 47. Handy knock by him though. End of a solid partnership of 60 runs. New Zealand lose their eighth wicket, trail by 134 runs. Jeetan Patel c Mohammed Shami b Ashwin 47 (47b 9x4 0x6).
45.6 overs: Jeetan Patel is given out LBW but the umpire is checking Jadeja's front foot. Jeetan Patel survives! Tossed up on middle and off, Patel goes onto his back foot and tries to defend but misses and gets hit on the pads. Big appeal for a leg before and the umpire Kettleborough raises his finger. The umpire asks the batsman to wait though as he wants to have a look at the replays and the video evidence shows Jadeja's foot is not landing behind the line and it's a no ball. Heartbreak for Jadeja!
10.02 am: Well, that was quick. The covers are coming off and the umpires make it back to the field. Sun is out too. The players make their way to the middle. Virat Kohli is having some discussion with the umpires here, not sure what but he's not pleased with some decision. Okay so they show the replays and the umpire was not happy when it started raining and he moved away but Jadeja continued to bowl. The umpires gave a warning there and Kohli was arguing about that. Anyway, the action resumes...
09.56 am: It has started to rain... The umpires decide take the players off but Kohli doesn't look pleased with that decision. He is okay to bowl in such conditions though. In fact as I type it has stopped raining already but the ground staff bring on more covers, probably as precautionary measures. It's gone really dark though. Stay tuned as we'll keep you posted with latest updates.
40 overs: New Zealand 157/7. Jeetan Patel 32 (31), Bradley Watling 14 (30).
Right then! Virender Sehwag rings the Eden bell to get play underway. The players make their way to the middle, Virat Kohli leads his troops. Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bowl first up, he'll look to add more wickets to his tally. Jeetan Patel and BJ Watling stride out to battle it out for the visitors. Here we go!
Morning everyone! Welcome to the coverage of the day 3 of the second Test between India and New Zealand in Kolkata. The hosts are right on top after leaving the Kiwis on 128/7 yesterday and with 188 runs behind. Due to rain yesterday, we have an early start today here. The good news is it's bright and sunny at the moment. Let's hope it stays like this and we get full play. Should be another exciting day of Test cricket.
RECAP
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar took five wickets to put New Zealand in the woods as India took giant strides towards an unassailable 2-0 series lead on a rain-truncated Day Two of the second cricket Test here on Saturday.
Bhuvneshwar (5-33) exploited the overcast conditions in the final session as he displayed his full repertoire of swing bowling to shave off New Zealand's top order leaving them on 128/7 at stumps before a motley but appreciative crowd of around 7,000 at the Eden Gardens.
This was the Uttar Pradesh bowler's fourth five-wicket haul in 15 Tests. It was the first time that he achieved the feat on home soil.
The other Indian pacer, Mohammad Shami (1-46) played the perfect foil to keep up the pressure on the visitors, who now trail India by 188 runs with just three wickets in hand, and need to come up with an excellent show to reverse the unfolding script. B.J. Watling (12) and Jeetan Patel (5) were in the middle at the close of play.
The Kiwis had lost the first Test in Kanpur by 197 runs.
In the morning, resuming at the overnight 239/7, India's first innings ended at 316, with Wriddhiman Saha doing justice to his new-found reputation of scoring vital runs in the lower-order enroute to notching up an unbeaten half-century -- the third in his Test career.
Saha (54 not out; 85 balls, 7x4, 2x6) seems to have heeded Ajinkya Rahane's statement on Friday that India needed a 300 plus score in the first innings, as he batted with determination to extend the hosts's first essay 87 minutes into the morning session.
Saha played a crucial part in two partnerships with Ravindra Jadeja for the eighth wicket (41) and Shami (35) for the last.
The New Zealand batsmen struggled to cope with the swing and guile of Bhuvneshwar and Shami as both openers Tom Latham (1) and Martin Guptill (13) fell in quick succession, with the visitors on 21/2 at lunch.
Bhuvneshwar was particularly sharp, first removing Martin Guptill (13) before lunch and then seeing the back of Henry Nicolls (1) in the second session with inswinging deliveries.
Shami, on the other hand, struck in his first over to dismiss Latham leg before.
Luke Ronchi (35; 52 balls, 5x4, 1x6) and stand-in skipper Ross Taylor (36; 80 balls, 5x4) then added 62 runs for the fourth wicket, but the partnership could have been terminated earlier had Gautam Gambhir not dropped Ronchi at short point.
Just before the rain interruption, which led to a net loss of 111 minutes of playing time and an early tea break, Ronchi was trapped on his backfoot by an angled delivery from Jadeja which seemed to have gone down the leg but umpire Rod Tucker had other ideas as he gifted India another breakthrough.
New Zealand were on 85/4 at the time.
Bhuvneshwar, who kept up a perfect line and length, took the prized wicket of Taylor inducing a nick to the first slip.
The 26-year-old bowler was on a hattrick in his 10th over, trapping debutant Mitchell Santner (9) plumb before the wicket with a low angular delivery and then unsettled the stumps of Matt Henry (0) with another beauty of a delivery.
Jeetan Patel somehow managed to prevent the hatrick, as the away swinger barely missed his edge.
In the morning, Saha braved a barrage of short-pitch deliveries and looked in fine touch caressing the second ball of the day through covers for four elegantly. The diminutive stumper never looked back, taking the Kiwi attack to the cleaners.
Preferring the off-side, Saha hit seven fours and two sixes enroute to his half-century which he scored in 109 minutes.
In the fear of running out of partners, Saha upped the ante as soon as the other overnight batsman Ravindra Jadeja fell for 14, hooking a short ball straight to long leg.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami did not last long falling to Santner and Trent Boult respectively.