New Zealand bounced back brilliantly late in the day thanks to Trent Boult after fifties from Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara laid the platform for a big score for the hosts, who eventually finished on 291/9 at the end of day one of the first Test at Kanpur.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India got off to a good start despite losing KL Rahul inside the first hour. Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara both scored fifties and saw India through without any further loss till lunch.
After both got their fifties, however, they were unable to make it count and the visitors came back in the post-lunch session to even the game and dismiss Virat Kohli as well before tea.
In the final session, which began with India on 185/4, Ajinkya Rahane fell early but Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma got together to steady the innings. But Rohit fell cheaply soon after the new ball was taken and then Trent Boult took over and almost bowled India out..
Here are some interesting numbers from the game:
0 – No Indian has scored more Test runs or taken more Test wickets than Ravichandran Ashwin in 2016. With 275 runs and 17 wickets in the calendar year, Ashwin has undeniably been India’s star of the year so far.
1 – This was the first fifty that Murali Vijay had managed against New Zealand in Tests. His 65 was not only his highest Test score against the Black Caps but also more than he had managed against them in the career before this innings (he had 48 in two Test before this match).
4 – India became only the fourth country after England, Australia and West Indies to play 500 Tests.
5 – Only five bowlers have more Test wickets in 2016 than New Zealand’s Neil Wagner. He has taken 28 wickets in the year so far, only Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Rangana Herath, Chris Woakes and Nathan Lyon all have more than Wagner but the Kiwi pacer has played the least innings among them all.
14.66 – Virat Kohli must be sick at the sight of Neil Wagner as he hasn’t had a great time against the Kiwi fast bowler. Not only has he been dismissed thrice in 77 balls but his batting average against Wagner is a mere 14.66 while it is more than 70 against New Zealand as a whole.
34 – The last time India’s top three all scored 30 or more in a Test innings was against England at Lord’s in the 2nd innings in 2014. Since then, they played 34 more innings before they achieved it again today.
72.50 – After his 9 on day one, Virat Kohli’s batting average in Tests has dropped from 85.20 to 72.50. Before this match, he had two hundreds and three fifties in seven innings against the Black Caps.
109.50 – Before the start of this game, Cheteshwar Pujara’s batting average in first-class matches in India was 109.50 with three hundreds including an unbeaten 256 in his last innings. He made 62 in the first innings.
1952 – The last visiting team to win in Kanpur after fielding first was England in 1952. Since then no side has managed to achieve that although 11 more Tests have been played at the venue and four of the 11 have been losses.
1983 – The last time India lost at Kanpur in a Test was against West Indies in 1983. Since then their win-loss record at the venue is 4-0 and against New Zealand it is 1-0 from two Tests.
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