Tim Southee sets the pace, Kiwi openers follow suit

Express News Service

BENGALURU:  Even before a single ball was bowled in the first Test between India and New Zealand in Kanpur, there were a lot of talks about the importance of spinners. The line-up of both teams with three spinners each gave a fair picture of what to expect in the Test. It was quite understandable with the past history of Green Park track, which has assisted spinners as early as Day 1.

However, the story has been quite different in this Test. Of the ten wickets that have fallen on the first two days, it is the pacers, who have scalped eight. If it was Kyle Jamieson on the opening day, Tim Southee, who bowled in the right channels, scalped four wickets (and one on Day 1) on Friday. It was the experienced pacer’s spell, which brought back the Kiwis into the game with India skidding from 258/4 to 345 all out.

The day belonged to the Black Caps, who finished on 129/0 with both the openers Tom Latham (50 n.o)  and Will Young (75 n.o) impressing. If there was anything to write home about for India, it was Shreyas Iyer (105), who completed his maiden ton to become the 16th Indian to score a century on his Test debut earlier on the day.

With the kind of dominance India spinners have had at home, one expected them to shine straight away. The last time India played at home against England, R Ashwin and Axar Patel scalped 32 and 27 wickets in four and three matches respectively. Cut to Kanpur, the spinners had little assistance from the pitch and more importantly, the New Zealand batters were up to the task. The duo alongside Ravindra Jadeja accounted for 41 overs without any reward, something rare for the trio in home conditions. The pacers, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav, also failed to deliver.

One has to give credit to the way the New Zealand openers Latham and Young played even when some balls kept low. The latter, who was playing his first Test in the subcontinent, was calm and composed in his approach. His ability to come down the track, play the sweep and his defence with the bat and pad close, showcased his ability to flourish in India. Young’s innings consisted of 12 fours while a much-experienced campaigner Latham hit four fours.

“It is going to be a challenging day for us with them getting off to a good start. The wicket is not really helping our bowlers, so we have to focus more on the areas and give less runs. We need to build more pressure because one wicket can change the momentum towards us and once the ball starts to spin or some cracks start to open, it will shift the momentum,” said Shreyas, who was one of Southee’s wickets.

Scoreboard
India 1st innings (O/n 258/4):  Shreyas c Young b Southee 105, Jadeja b Southee 50, Saha c Blundell b Southee 1, Ashwin b Axar 38, Umesh not out 10, Ishant lbw Patel 0, Extras (b5, lb2, nb4, w1) 12, Total (all out in 111.1 overs) 345, FoW: 5-266, 6-288, 7-305, 8-313, 9-339, Bowling: Southee 27.4-6-69-5, Jamieson 23.2-6-91-3, Patel 29.1-7-90-2, Somerville 24-2-60-0, Ravindra 7-1-28-0.

New Zealand 1st innings: Latham (batting) 50, Young (batting) 75, Extras (lb1, nb3) 4, Total (no loss in 57 overs) 129, Bowling: Ishant 6-3-10-0, Umesh 10-3-26-0, Ashwin 17-5-38-0, Jadeja 14-4-28-0, Axar 10-1-26-0.

105 runs

13 fours

2 sixes

171  balls