With the old ball, the batters looked in absolute control, but nearly 45 minutes before the Tea break when the second new ball was taken, the extra bounce and movement did put them in a bit of a trouble. Sarfaraz Khan attempted to go on the offensive early on against Tim Southee, before being beaten by the away movement. But that wasn’t to stop him. His long vigil at the crease came to an end soon after he brought up his 11th first-class 150, when he drove Southee to the cover fielder.
It was a near-flawless partnership then, with barely a couple of shouts for leg-before against Pant, and a missed run out opportunity by New Zealand. Sarfaraz Khan cashed in on the areas outside the offstump with punches, cuts, dabs and lofts enroute to his maiden Test ton.
When Ajaz got one to kick at Pant from the rough, the glove absorbed a lot of the impact and the ball went straight down. He now decided he had to attack. In one dramatic Ajaz over, he hit two sixes. Then he survived an inside edge and an outside edge in the same over. The inside one saved him from lbw, and his back pad denied New Zealand a catch off the outside edge. Pant still managed to hit one more four in the over, India’s 47th boundary, more than the runs they scored in the first innings.
A shower brought them some relief, but India kept attacking before the new ball, taking their run rate back up to five an over. At first, it appeared New Zealand had exhausted all their luck in getting the conditions to bowl India out for 46 and in getting Rohit Sharma out in the second innings. For now, everything just started going past the bat or falling safe.
Sarfaraz Khan survived seven various kinds of false shots before he finally lobbed one to cover as the ball seamed away from him. Pant, not quite at home himself against the new ball, tried a sweep before actually dropping jaws on the floor with the slog-swept six to go into the 90s. Then came O’Rourke, who had been ramped for four first ball in the morning. This time, his first ball nipped back and kicked at Pant to take the fatal bottom edge to silence the crowd. His extra bounce and seam movement away also accounted for KL Rahul.
Day 4 : Afternoon Session : Sarfaraz-Pant show followed by collapse leave NZ a target of 107
Three wickets apiece by William O’Rourke and Matt Henry bundled out India for 462 on Day 4, and enabled New Zealand a target of 107 to win the first Test in Bengaluru. It was a day when the pendulum of momentum swung both ends.
Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant ensured India wiped away the lead without much fuss in the rain-marred first half of the day, and then it was O’Rourke and Henry who triggered the fall of India’s last six wickets for only 54 runs. Bad light, and eventually heavy showers, ensured that New Zealand could manage to bat only four balls in their a small tricky period before stumps were called on Saturday.
The proceedings on the fourth morning began in India’s favour. Much like how the hosts had dominated on the previous evening, courtesy a century stand between Sarfaraz and Virat Kohli, they continued in the same vein on a track that offered little support to pacers and seamers alike. Sarfaraz got going with a flurry of boundaries, starting from the second over.
He was tempted outside the offstump, and he took the bait. With his wide array of shots – cuts, lofts, dabs and punches, he scored briskly through the point and third man region. Pant joined in the act soon after, taking down Ajaz Patel for two sixes and a four in one over.
With the field largely spread out, singles were easily on offer. However, the duo didn’t stop looking for boundaries as Sarfaraz notched up his maiden Test ton. Pant also marched along largely seamlessly, even as he missed a few attempted hoicks.
He was even trapped on the pads a couple of times, but stayed on thanks to inside edges. He also narrowly escaped a run-out, completing the single while watching the ball as his partner animatedly signaled mid-pitch to draw his attention. It took a combination of misjudgment from Devon Conway and keeper Tom Blundell for Pant to make it back into the crease.
The duo went on to stitch a 177-run stand which helped India wipe out the first innings deficit and place themselves comfortably for a significant lead.
However, the introduction of the second new-ball changed the complexion of the contest. Sarfaraz went chasing the first delivery by Tim Southee and even as he missed the outswinger, he didn’t hold back in looking for runs thereafter. One of those shots, a drive on the up to covers brought about his downfall. Even Pant was continuing in his aggressive spree, including going on his knees and slog sweeping Southee for a 107-meter six.
However, his innings was brought to an end by O’Rourke who operated with much more threatening lines and lengths and put his extra pace and bounce to better use. Pant, batting on 99, played one back onto his stumps allowing New Zealand to run through the rest of the line-up.
KL Rahul edged one to the ‘keeper at the stroke of Tea and Ravindra Jadeja departed early in the third session, chipping a pull shot off the toe end of his bat to Will Young. Henry then ran through the tail, trapping R Ashwin leg before, inducing an outside edge to the ‘keeper to dismiss Bumrah and having Siraj caught at mid on. Then one came slowly off the surface to take the toe end on a Ravindra Jadeja pull.
Henry bowled an unbroken ten-over spell to keep a lid on the scoring and take the last three wickets to go with his first innings’ five. While the India fans had gone from praying for the rain to stop to now hoping for biblical thunderstorms, India didn’t seem pleased when they were asked to go off early for bad light, which did later turn into a massive storm. The new ball was moving, and India were hoping for some damage under artificial lights.
The lowest target defended successfully by India in Tests is 107 against Australia at Wankhede in 2004. However, the Chinnaswamy pitch is unlikely to be as friendly to the spinners. Rain has played its part throughout the Test, and scattered thunderstorms are predicted for Sunday. With a low total to defend and weather likely to play a part, the Bengaluru Test is heading towards an intriguing climax.
Road Ahead on Day 5 for India and New Zealand
There is no chance for play to resume any more so they have called for stumps. It is absolutely pelting down at the Chinnaswamy now. You can’t even spot a few chairs in the stands. New Zealand have got the timing so right in this game. They won it with the first new ball in the first innings and they broke the back with the second new ball in the second innings just before the heavens opened up. They only need 107 run to win with a full day’s play at hand.
However intense the rain is tonight or till start of play tomorrow it doesn’t matter because the SubAir system will dry the outfield and make it game-ready in minutes. The forecast for tomorrow first half isn’t all that bad. Rohit seemed to say to the umpires about good enough light coming in from the floodlights and that the cloud was behind the ground on the other side. Virat also joined him briefly. Both doing their bit to see if they can get some play today.
This was Test cricket shorn of all of its niceties. The bowlers were under extreme pressure from Sarfaraz Khan and Pant, who added 177 in 35.1 overs, as India tried to become only the second team to win a Test from a sub-50 first innings. This same approach resulted in a collapse when the second new ball started to nip around.
This was high-variance Test cricket. India lost 17 wickets for 108 runs to the first and the third new balls, but scored 400 for 3 in 80 overs in between. India’s quick scoring rate meant the second new ball was New Zealand’s absolute last roll of the dice. Had they failed to cause any damage with the new ball, the best they could have hoped for was a draw. Keeping in mind how they had been pummelled and made to look toothless for 80 overs, it was a show of remarkable skill and persistence to roar back into the match.
In under 20 overs, they drew 43 false shots from India, having done so only 72 times in the first 80 overs. Much of it was down to Sarfaraz Khan swinging his bat hoping to blast the new ball, but who dare question that approach when he scored 150 showing similarly scant regard to the bowling. Pant himself tried to hit his way out, gloving a sweep off Tim Southee, slog-sweeping him out of the stadium, but then playing on the 6’6″ Will O’Rourke with the replacement ball on 99, his seventh dismissal in the 90s to go with six hundreds.
O’Rourke was fiery, 3-3-0-3 at one point with the new ball, before Matt Henry found just the optimum seam to take out the last three. It showed just how far you fall behind when you get bowled out for 46. Sarfaraz and Pant carried on from the 231 for 3 on day three, and managed to one-up the progress. Team-mates at the Under-19 World Cup, they were innovative and thrilling.
Sarfaraz Khan turned his first Test hundred into a 150, his 11th first-class score of 150 or more out of his 16 hundreds. Pant, who missed keeping duties after a knock on his surgically repaired knee from his life-threatening road accident, matched him in audacity. However, his running hampered, he turned at least two couples into singles as he approached the hundred. He walked back with a wistful look at the sky.
If Sarfaraz Khan toyed with the bowling with late-cuts and ramps while ducking and weaving, Pant slog-swept fast bowlers and charged at them to hit them past mid-off. His five sixes took him past Kapil Dev and placed him sixth in the list of top six-hitters for India in Tests.
It has been an outstanding Test match. Some high quality batting from the Indian top-order but the lower middle-order and the tail just couldn’t see off the second new ball and they lost their last 7 wickets for just 54 runs. William O’Rourke the wrecker-in-chief getting the ball to misbehave after Southee troubled and got rid of the sensational Sarfaraz Khan. It was a body blow when O’Rourke came on and removed Pant first ball of his spell with the new cherry.
You sensed India were in trouble when those two fell and the rest just couldn’t find a way to survive. India could come second despite two great innings from Sarfaraz Khan and Pant. Can they make 107 feel like 250+ tomorrow? Realistically, advantage New Zealand. But the pacers have enough help and you never know with spin too. And interestingly, the lowest target ever defended successfully in a Test by India is 107 against Australia at the Wankhede in 2004.
Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights
