IND vs NZ: Despite the big innings of Indian Batsmen Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant, New Zealand needs only 107 runs to win the match. India 462 (Sarfaraz 140, Pant 99), New Zealand 0 (Latham 0) need 107 runs to win
IND vs NZ, comeback by Sarafaraz and Pant
What Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant did on the Bengaluru ground on Saturday reminded us of the partnership of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman in the Kolkata Test in 2001, but whether this amazing courage of these two helped the Indian team win the first Test or not, it will be known on the fifth day. Thanks to Sarfaraz’s 150 and Pant’s 99 runs, the Indian team was able to reduce the lead to 356 runs, but despite this, New Zealand now needed only 107 runs to win.
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Sarfaraz and Pant came out on the morning of the fourth day with a vow that they would not accept defeat. Both continued to bat in their own style and New Zealand started to feel breathless. Sarfraz did not leave the support of the third man from his favorite spot deep point and soon reached his first test century.
On the other hand, while Pant was presenting a strong defense, on the other hand, he was also sending bad balls across the boundary with his strength. First, there was a century partnership between the two and soon it turned into a partnership of 150 runs. Both had given India the lead, but the real battle had just begun but New Zealand also had a trump card, the second new ball.
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As soon as 80 overs were over, New Zealand captain Tom Latham called for a new ball. Tim Southee got amazing out swing with the new ball and from here Sarfraz started getting troubled. But somehow he reached the figure of 150. What the fast bowlers did not learn from the old ball, Saudi had fit it in his mind.
That was Sarfraz’s habit of not playing with his front foot on the pace bowlers. Saudi played his trick and bowled a fuller ball on the fourth stump. It was so far ahead that Sarfraz could not send it over the cover, the bat swung in his hand and the ball went straight to the cover’s hands. On the other hand, Pant was still standing and he hit a 107-meter-long six in one of Saudi’s overs and sent the ball out of the stadium. Pant was now in the nineties.
The other fast bowler William O’Rourke was taking good advantage of his height and was on the way to a great spell. Pant was on 99 runs and O’Rourke came to start his new over. In an attempt to punch a back of good length ball near the body, the ball took the inside edge and went into the stumps. In the next over, he got KL Rahul out behind the wicket. After some time, he also got Ravindra Jadeja out. After this, what could R Ashwin alone do, he could only take India’s lead beyond 100 runs and soon the team was all out.
After this, when New Zealand came to bat, Jasprit Bumrah got an LBW opportunity on the third ball itself, but the umpire refused, so a review was taken, in which it was found that the ball had pitched outside the leg stump. One ball later, the batsmen complained of poor light. The umpire checked with the meter and had just stopped the game when it started raining. Now it has to be seen how the Indian team defends 107 runs in IND vs NZ 1st Test Match.
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