At the end of Day One, if someone asked you in which dressing room you would like to find yourself in, you are likely to name the New Zealand one. Led first by Mitchell Santner and then Trent Boult late in the day, the Kiwi bowlers have certainly given their side the upper hand after Day One and it now remains to be seen how the batsman can respond on the second day.
It was pretty much expected that if anyone had to do the damage for the Kiwis, it would have to be the spinners and it was the left-arm spin of Santner, who struck first for the visitors, removing KL Rahul cheaply. He came back to break the stand between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara of 112 runs, which was at a vital juncture in the day to somewhat throw the floodgates open.
His performance, it looked as if had rubbed on to Ish Sodhi as well, who removed the other set batsman- Vijay- for 65 to bring the match back into balance.
Once the spinners had done their job, Trent Boult got his act together, removing three batsmen late into the day to give the Kiwis the edge at the end of Day One.
Speaking post the day, Santner agreed that those scalps from Boult had indeed put his side in a good position.
"We're in a reasonably good position after pulling it back at the end with late wickets,” Santner said at the end of Day One.
For India, the key performer on the day was Vijay, who yet again showed what a fine batsman he has developed into, making a valuable 65 that was the foundation for India’s total after the end of proceedings.
Vijay showed all the attributes that has made him the dependable batsman that he is, but at the end of Day One, rued the chance of not reaching the three-figure mark, despite admitting that India had put themselves in a good position, thanks to the runs on the board.
“Definitely disappointed, batted well, I thought after tea was my session to cash in. Got to take it in my stride and we better in the second innings.The wicket was on the slower side, and so wanted to rotate strike, with their safe field as well. It wasn't turning as much,”he said.
The pitch has begun to assist the spinners from the opening day itself and Vijay also admitted that it had begun to slow down, adding that if Ravindra Jadeja could get India’s total to 320-330, then India would have gotten themselves into a much better position.
What it could also mean that Virat Kohli could throw the new ball to Ashwin and use someone like an Umesh Yadav later on in the day, as it was seen that the ball was reversing swinging for the pacers.
The opening hour will be key to both sides and post lunch session could also be vital to determine who indeed takes the firm step forward in clinvhing the game.
It will be interesting to see whose point of view comes true on Day 2- whether those late wickets for the Kiwis had indeed given them the edge in the game or whether India had got enough runs on the board.
Either way, it promises to be an intriguing affair and hopefully like on Day One, we would have had many moments to talk about on Day Two as well.
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