It is not a great day when rain outshines the day’s play but the lesser said about the inexperience of the ground staff at Green Park, Kanpur, the better.
There was a sharp spell of rain that lasted for around an hour – immediately after tea was taken on the second day, but even with the entire ground under covers and the return of sunshine, there was no play possible. The umpires who were scheduled to inspect the ground at 3:45 PM could see only the covers still being removed and decided to call it off sooner.
It was a pity that it ended that way because, just before the arrival of rain there was some rivetting cricket being played. New Zealand ended the day at 152/1, 166 runs short of India total of 318, with Kane Williamson (65) and Tom Latham (56) at the crease.
India started the day on 291/9 with Jadeja looking to farm strike and boost the total.
That stand of forty one for the final wicket was like a lousy dessert following a sumptuous meal for New Zealand. After Mitchell Santer and Trent Boult failed to break through, it required Williamson to bring back Neil Wagner, his bowling pinch-hitter (if you can call it that), and soon enough the bouncer did the trick for Wagner in getting Umesh Yadav. A total of 318 was one that would not have discouraged India much. It was just about enough after 277/9 but not enough after 167/2.
The pitch, the subject of much attention before the start of the game, had played well so far. New Zealand’s batsmen might have even been encouraged to open up a little. Not that the compulsive-lofter Martin Guptill needed any further invitation. The arrival of spin as early as the third over was a definite ploy to play on Guptill’s weakness. He did go for one that, despite being mistimed, went comfortably over mid off. He didn’t last long though as Yadav got one to nip in and trap him in front.
The second session was one in which New Zealand dug in. Not often do you see opposition teams go through wicketless sessions in India. New Zealand, as they’ve broken norm so far, dug in with the bat as well. Latham and Williamson, much like Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara yesterday, complemented each other superbly. India tried a lot of things to dislodge them.
Mohammad Shami kept attacking Latham from round the wicket. It was a Zaheeresque attempt in setting up the batsman but barring one edge that flew past gully eaarly in the spell, Latham was adept at keeping most of it out. Jadeja was quick to get through his overs as usual and maintaining tight lines but the contest that would set the innings up was Ashwin v Williamson.
The start of that contest came as soon as Williamson walked in but strangely Ashwin preferred to have a field that included a long on and a deep mid wicket. Despite fields predominantly packing the legside, the New Zealand captain did not find it difficult to manouver strike. Ashwin’s first six overs went for 23 runs and he was soon taken off.
The partnership was an efficient one. Latham was keen on sweeping but Williamson was good at going back as well as the sweep. Neither allowed the spinners to settle. And as the afternoon wore on, it looked clear that although the were being pushed, New Zealand had found a way to tackle it. The duo added a 117-run stand, of which much was done in cruise control.
The pitch seemed an anomaly from the dust, usually omnipresent in the town of Kanpur. But it didn’t take longer than the middle of the second session to see it being kicked up. The stand was worth 91 when there was a catch appeal turned down. Latham’s sweep went off his boot and hit Rahul’s chest, at short leg, before coming off the grille of his helmet and into his hands. The rules state that that the catch is not a clean one if it comes in contact with the helmet, which gave the left-hander a chance to notch up his fifty.
Williamson followed suit soon after. But despite the arrival of these milestones, the game had changed colour. You’d expect the batsmen to be in control by then normally, wouldn’t you?
Ball number 31.4 was a seminal point of sorts. The ball pitched on a fuller length and with Williamson lunging out to defend, the ball kicked up off a footmark to ping the shortish batsman on his shoulder before taking out a part of his helmet. It’s understandably scary when a fast bowler hits you on the helmet. You can at least see it coming. But when a spinner does it, even he himself isn’t willing it to do so. Williamson had played Ashiwn quite comfortably until then. But these are the kind of deliveries that do positive things for the spinner and quite the opposite in the batsman’s head. At the end of 31 overs, New Zealand were 98/1 but Ashwin and Jadeja hadn’t quite found their groove yet.
When the spinners are on the prowl in India, you feel it from the stands. The appeals start flowing laterally – starts from the bowler and fielders, is joint in chorus by the crowd and a resulting din emanates even as the spinner turns back. Keep playing this on repeat and this is when you see the batsman getting beat in the air or fumbling around with the close-in fielders around. Both Williamson and Latham were now feeling the heat.
Ashwin kept probing both of them with teasing lines, sometimes on off, sometimes round the leg and sometimes with just vicious turn. There was the odd ball that kept low, too. India could sense their chance here. The last half an hour leading into the tea break was one in which the momentum seemingly shifted in India’s favour but just like the start of the day when New Zealand were struggling to deliver the knockout punch, India were simply not getting that breakthrough.
Latham and Williamson were adept enough to keep rotating the strike even through this tough period. You never know what could have transpired if the ground had been ready in time for a restart but it certainly culled some of India’s momentum and rewarded the New Zealand pair with a chance to start afresh on the third day.
