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India fought back strongly on Day 3 of the first Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, October 18. Having conceded a huge first-innings lead of 356 runs, they went to stumps on Day 3 at 231-3 in their second innings, still trailing the Kiwis in 125 runs.
The hosts suffered a huge setback just before stumps as Virat Kohli (70) was caught behind off Glenn Phillips. The New Zealand spinner got one to bounce a little and induced a nick as Kohli poked at the delivery. The wicket brought an end to a brilliant third-wicket stand of 136 between Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan (70*).
The hosts got off to a solid start with the bat in their second innings as openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Rohit Sharma added 72 runs for the first wicket. A rush of blood from Jaiswal (35 off 52), however, brought an end to the partnership. The left-hander charged down the track to left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, completely missed the ball, and was stumped.
Rohit eased to his half-century by smacking Matt Henry for a six and two fours in the same over. However, he was dismissed in unfortunate fashion for 52 off 63 balls. The Indian captain defended a delivery from Ajaz, but the ball bounced and spun back to hit the stumps, forcing a dejected Rohit to walk back gingerly.
Kohli and Sarfaraz led a fine fightback for India. Both batters complemented each other very well. Sarfaraz brought up his half-century off only 42 balls. His knock featured seven fours and three sixes, which included consecutive sixes off Ajaz. Kohli was more sedate, getting to his fifty off 70 balls. He soon went on to complete 9,000 runs in Test cricket.
Rachin Ravindra ton takes New Zealand past 400 as India's bowlers toil
Resuming their first innings on 180-3, New Zealand went on to post 402, gaining a huge lead of 356 runs. Young left-hander Rachin Ravindra (134 off 157) held the innings together for the Kiwis, notching up his second Test ton, while Tim Southee contributed a vital 65 off 73.
India began Day 3 on a positive note, picking up four wickets to reduce the visitors to 233-7. Mohammed Siraj had Daryl Mitchell (18) caught at gully, while Tom Blundell (5) nicked a good length ball from Jasprit Bumrah to second slip. Ravindra Jadeja then knocked over Phillips (14) and Henry (8).
Ravindra and Southee, however, added 137 runs for the eighth wicket to frustrate India's bowlers. The latter struck five fours and four sixes in his breezy innings before being foxed by a slower ball from Siraj. Ravindra was the last man to be dismissed. He top-edged a sweep off Kuldeep Yadav and was caught by the keeper, bringing an end to a fine knock that featured 13 fours and four sixes.
