"Rahane will have to segregate the roles of his bowlers" - Pragyan Ojha on the course of action for Day 3 of India vs New Zealand Test 

Former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha feels that Ajinkya Rahane needs to segregate his bowling unit into groups that will deliver wickets and keep things tight at the other end. Indian bowlers did not fare well on Day 2 of the first Test in Kanpur as the New Zealand openers played the entirety of the last two sessions.

Openers Tom Latham and Will Young negotiated India's attempts easily and finished the day unscathed following an unbeaten 129-run stand.

Ojha feels that senior bowlers R Ashwin and Ishant Sharma should be tasked with bowling aggressively and trying to pick up wickets. The rest of the bowling attack should support the duo by keeping the run rate under check.

While speaking on Cricbuzz, Ojha said:

"I wish to see Rahane decide which two of his bowlers will keep things tight and two more bowlers who can experiment and go for wickets. If this partnership continues, then the alarm bells will start to ring. Rahane will have to segregate the roles of his bowlers. For me, the wicket-taking bowlers would be Ishant Sharma and R Ashwin, because they thrive when being asked to bowl aggressively by the captain."

Mentioning Umesh Yadav's tendency to bowl erratically, Ojha said that it may be the reason why he is behind in the pecking order when it comes to pacers despite being on the team for so long.

"Jadeja and Axar have been successful when they are asked to keep things tight," he said. "This might sound critical, but even after playing for such a long time, Umesh Yadav's length is not set. So, despite being part of the team for a significant period, new guys like Bumrah and Siraj have leaped ahead of Umesh Yadav. He has not been consistent with his length."

Despite a solid economy of 2.60, Umesh Yadav was still the most expensive among the bowlers on Day 2. He bowled 10 overs and is expected to play a key role on Day 3, given his credentials with the old ball and reverse swing.

India managed to keep the run rate under check: Ojha

New Zealand's dominance on Day 2 with the bat and the ball made it hard for the hosts to find positives but Ojha feels that the way India kept the run rate in check with tight bowling in the final session deserves praise. He reckons the brief silver lining could be used as motivation for the team to come back strong on Day 3.

"India managed to keep the run rate under check in the third session, it was under 2 runs an over and that can be taken as a positive," he said. "Indian team did a good job of keeping things tight. Even if India don't get a wicket early tomorrow, if they keep on bowling tight, there will be a time in the day where they get wickets in quick succession. The new batsman will also be under pressure because the ball is starting to behave."

India still hold a 216-run lead over the visitors and will hope to break the commanding opening-wicket partnership as soon as possible tomorrow.