India 156 and 81 for 1 (Jaiswal 46*, Gill 22*) need another 278 runs to beat New Zealand 259 and 255 (Latham 86, Phillips 48*, Washington 4-56)
India got the five standing New Zealand wickets for 57 runs, and knocked off 81 runs in 12 overs for the loss of Rohit Sharma’s wicket in an audacious bid to win the Test and keep the series alive. They were so far behind the game that they were left needing at least one more such a comprehensive session to move ahead in the game. However, a slight sign for them was Mitchell Santner, who has taken eight out of 11 Indian wickets, clutching onto his side just before lunch.
It didn’t start well for India. The first ball from Ashwin produced an edge that Rohit Sharma didn’t go for. Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips added a quick 33 to the overnight score. That Jadeja turned the ball big at the pace of mid-90s was only a promising sign for New Zealand. Even full balls were difficult to hit out as Santner and Ajaz Patel discovered with catches in the deep.
Before that, though, India needed a first breakthrough, which arrived with Jadeja’s first wicket of the match, a natural variation that went past Blundell’s inside edge. The last wicket was lazy play from both Washington and William O’Rourke. Phillips, having hit two sixes, was looking to manipulate strike and caught Washington napping at deep cover. The non-existent second now looked on, and O’Rourke took it casually, not expecting a throw at his end. Jadeja showed quick thinking by deflecting the throw onto the stumps even as he was expressing displeasure with Washington.
It produced errors in length as Santner pitched short and Gill punched him for four. It ended in Santner holding onto his side with concern although he went onto finish the session and create another chance, which went to ground as the edge was too thick. Jaiswal topped the session by hitting Phillips for an inside-out six over cover.
