The second test between India and New Zealand kicked off today 9:30 at MCA stadium, Pune. Visiting captain Tom Latham won the toss and elected to bat first. An ideal decision on a typical spin friendly Indian pitch. New Zealand batters and Indian bowlers had even competition until now. After 2 sessions, the scoreboard stands at 201-5 in 62 overs. Rachin Ravindra continued to pile up runs with his 65(105) (5×4 and 1×6). For India Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar took 3 and 2 wickets respectively.
The Indian team made 3 changes. Shubhman Gill was fit to participate and he replaced KL Rahul, Washington Sundar replaced Kuldeep Yadav to strengthen depth in batting and Akash Deep replaced Md. Siraj. On the other hand, New Zealand was forced a change due to Matt Henry’s glute niggle. All rounder Mitchell Santner subbed in for Henry.
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NZ had a cautious start. Openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway stitched 32 runs partnership and were set for a big stand before Ravi Ashwin trapped Kiwi skipper Latham lbw. Another 44 runs were added by Conway and Will Young. Young fell prey to Ashwin at 18. First session ended with 102-2 and neither of the sides were dominant.
Rachin Ravindra and Conway added 62. Conway was trapped caught behind by Ashwin. The southpaw contributed 76 to Kiwi’s total. Daryll Mitchell joined Rachin for a 59 run stand. Sundar picked two wickets of Rachin Ravindra and Tom Blundell in quick succession. With 3 wickets and slow run rate, India had upper hand on Kiwis in second session.
With 13 sessions still to go, a lot of action remains in the game. This test match holds significant role for India in its hunt to qualify for WTC final and to save this series as well. India will be batting in 4th innings, hence it needs to capitalize in first 2 days. If it goes down to 4th or 5th day, Kiwis will have an advantage. NZ spinner Ajaz Patel has a good record on Indian soil. Back in Mumbai, 2022, Patel took all 10 wickets in the innings putting him in history books.
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(Input from the agencies)
