On the third morning of the second Test match against New Zealand in Pune, India got off to a fast start as they chased the enormous mark of 359, with Yashasvi Jaiswal soaring to 46* off only 36 deliveries. Jaiswal made a statement by smashing the second ball of the Indian innings for six against Tim Southee, despite the pitch’s whims and the enormous distance to the goal. Similar to India’s performance in the second innings in Bengaluru. The hosts’ intent has once again been overwhelming, despite the fact that they lost captain Rohit Sharma for very little.
When the Indian skipper came out and gave a bat-pad catch to short leg. He became Mitchell Santner’s eighth wicket of the match. In addition to coming out proactively, Shubman Gill (22* off 20) shown significantly improved gameplay against spin so far. Although neither batter’s strokes were planned. They both used sweeps effectively. Jaiswal’s lofted hit over extra cover against Glenn Phillips just before the break was the session’s high point. Although batting won’t be simple and the pitch has several tricks up its sleeve, India’s assault has undoubtedly caught New Zealand off guard.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
India added just 57 runs to the overnight total earlier in the morning. Securing the final five New Zealand wickets. The opening half of the day did not go India’s way. But the visitors collapsed after Ravindra Jadeja used a slick arm-ball to castle Tom Blundell. Tim Southee edged one to first slip as wickets began to fall, and Santner holed out to the deep against Jadeja. Additionally, as India continued to chip away, Ajaz Patel miscalculated a loft to the deep. At the non-striker’s end, no. 11 William ORourke was run out. While Phillips attempted to score from the other end but ran out of partners.
Even with the collapse, the commanding 358-point lead could win the game on most fields, much less Pune’s deteriorating field. But with their aggressive style of play, India has already removed 81 runs from that mark. The hosts will undoubtedly bowl hard, but New Zealand will have enough of opportunities to break through the batting order. It prepares the audience for an exciting day of theater.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 259 and 255 (Tom Latham 86; Washington Sundar 4-56, Ravindra Jadeja 3-72) lead India 156 and 81/1 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 46*; Mitchell Santner 1-30) by 277 runs.
