Welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of Day 3 of the first Test match between India and New Zealand from the Green Park International Stadium in Kanpur.
Latham steps out to Axar to shovel it over mid on and to the boundary. Pressure was building on him as he was unable to get off strike. That strike would have eased his nerves. NZ 192/1 in 82 overs.
The second new ball is due now but doesn’t look like India is interested. Jadeja continues with the old ball. Keeps it around length and the batters defend.
NZ 187/1 in 80 overs: Another good over from Axar. Just two runs from it. He skids it on to Williamson coming over the wicket before pitching it around off to Latham who steps out to defend.
Axar replaces Jadeja. Maiden over for him. Keeps it around good length and on off stump.
Maiden from Ashwin but Nitin Menon doesn’t seem pleased with Ashwin’s follow through. He moves across the stumps after the release and the umpire complains about not being able to see. Ashwin is not convinced and Rahane now has a word with the umpire. The issue seems to have escalated as coach Rahul Dravid seems to be seeking clarification from the match referee.
NZ 184/1 in 76 overs: Turn from Jadeja and it beats Williamson. It stays low and straightens from the angle. Great job by Bharat behind the stumps. Not an easy introduction for him to Test cricket. Driven by Williamson through covers and he’ll keep strike with a single.
NZ 183/1 in 75 overs: Tidy from Ashwin. Attacks the off stump line against Williamson and just a single from the over.
India misses out on a wicket. LBW appeal against Latham was turned down and India didn’t review. Replay confirms three reds and a huge missed opportunity. Ashwin will be kicking himself. It had pitched on leg and Ashwin probably thought it was turning too much.
Ashwin continues after drinks. FOUR! Latham sweeps again to the deep square leg boundary. It was pitched on leg and Latham didnt miss out on that.
Jadeja into the attack to replace Ishant. Maiden over for Jadeja and it is time for drinks. NZ 161/1 in 70 overs.
Ashwin beats Williamson. Pitches it full on off and Williamson sweeps and misses due to the bounce.
Big appeal and turned down. Young looked to cut it and Bharat reckons he edged it. India goes for the review. Spike on Ultraedge and OUT! Ashwin pitched it just outside off. It kept low, as it has been all day, and took Young’s edge as he tried to guide it to point. Williamson in at three and pressure on him straightaway. Williamson has taken an outside off stump guard to rule out the LBW probably. NZ 152/1 in 67 overs. Williamson off the mark with a single at mid on.
Beaten! Finally Ishant induces the drive from Latham and it misses his outside edge. Ishant comes over the wicket to Latham now, angling it away from him. Another maiden for him.
Young steps out to Ashwin and chips it over mid wicket for a four. It was looped by Ashwin and he took it as a half-volley. That also brings up 150 for NZ. NZ 151/0 in 65 overs. Eight overs have been bowled so far and 22 runs have come. Ashwin has looked more threatening today after changing his bowling end while Ishant seems to have missed his line today and bowls a very wide line outside off.
Drops short of slip again and Ashwin seems frustrated. Goes off Latham’s outside edge and the low bounce saves him.
Young gets to his highest Test score with a boundary to fine leg as Ishant strays on the legs and he moves on to 85 off 202 balls.
NZ 135/0 in 60 overs: FOUR! First boundary of the day and it goes off Young’s outside edge and between slip and gully.
NZ 131/0 in 59 overs: Ashwin from the River End. Pitched outside off and it keeps low, taking Latham’s bottom edge on the sweep. Oh, he seems to have missed it as it is given as one bye. Keeps low to Young next ball on off stump. Gets his outside edge this time and drips short of first slip. Floats it up wide and Latham beaten again. The batters are looking very uncomfortable for the first time in the inning.
NZ 129/0 in 58 overs: Ishant to Young first ball. Wide outside off and the ball keeps very low. Bharat will have to adjust to the variable bounce. 92 overs will need to be bowled today to compensate for the overs lost due to bad light on the first couple of days. Ishant keeps it straight on stumps. Maiden over to start the day.
UPDATE: A new wicket-keeper for India behind the stumps. Saha has a neck issue and Bharat replaces him.
Day 3 LIVE action will begin at 9:30 AM IST. Stay tuned!
Another morning in Kanpur where the haze hangs heavy over the ground but will it hang heavy over India’s fortunes too?
The coach and spin wizard Ashwin have a keen look at the surface.
DAY 2 RECAP
The calm and assured Tom Latham has now found an enterprising partner in Will Young after the two defied India’s bowlers for the best part of five hours to keep the first Test evenly balanced after Day Two here. The prudence and vigilance shown by the opening batters meant India could not dislodge them despite all the skills used by R. Ashwin & Co. as New Zealand crawled to 129 for 0 by stumps, trailing by 216 runs in the first innings.
Young (75 batting, 180b) entertained with some excellent strokes – including drives, lofts and sweeps – even as Latham (50 batting, 165b) was content to keep defending at the other end. Their unbroken partnership is now the first 100-plus partnership by a foreign opening pair in India in nearly five years.
Both batters showed their ability in handling spin. They used their feet well, judged the lengths early, and played with soft hands. They were happy to punish the odd loose delivery and used the sweep shot to good effect.
-Abhishek Mukherjee
India Playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma.
New Zealand Playing XI: Tom Latham, Will Young, Kane Williamson (c), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Tom Blundell (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William Somerville.
SQUADS
India: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Mayank Agarwal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Srikar Bharat, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Prasidh Krishna. Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Umesh Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, Jayant Yadav.
New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (vc), Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, William Somerville, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, Will Young.
WHERE TO WATCH IND VS NZ 1ST TEST DAY 3 LIVE?
India vs New Zealand first Test Day 3 will be aired LIVE on the Star Sports Network at 9:30 AM IST. The match will also be available for live streaming on Disney+Hotstar.
