IND v NZ, Test 1, Day 2: Latham, Young challenge Indian spinners as New Zealand retreats

Calm and confident Tom Latham has now found an enterprising pair of Will Young, both of whom challenged the Indian bowlers for the best part of the five-hour stretch, to keep the first balanced test here after the Second Day. The prudence and care shown by the early ones could not displace India despite all the skills used by R. Ashwin & Co., as New Zealand crawled to 129 to 0 through the posts as it followed the 216 run in the first inning.

Young (75 bats, 180b) was entertained with some great shots – including drive, loft and sweep – although Latham (50 bats, 165b) was content to continue defending at the other end. Uninterrupted collaboration is now the first partnership in more than 100 years opened in India by a foreign couple.

Both batters showed their ability to handle the tour. They used their feet well, judged long ones early, and played with soft hands. They were happy to punish the odd loose submission and use the sweep shot well.

READ

IND vs NZ, Test 1, Day 2: Shreyas Iyer scored a hundred points in his test debut

Young attacked the three turners – Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel – and was confident enough to gather a border with Ashwin down the road. And when the ball was kicked short, Ashwin carried a thin leg. The reverse sweep, which plays well in border cricket, has yet to see the light of day; perhaps he thought it would be too dangerous to get him out. The third man-region blow was the most profitable blow against the fastballs.

He played too many sweeps in the 35th against Jadeja and almost 58 lbw were released. The review, however, saved him; the ball-kicker showed that the ball would lose the ball.

READ

India v New Zealand, Test 1: New Zealand spinners are not ashamed

Latham was also lucky. He was hit twice on the lbw pitch and saved by the referee as he hit the ball for the first time twice. Later, Jadeja and India thought they finally saw the back when they were caught trapped behind; Latham mentioned it again, and DRS came to his rescue again, proving this time that he didn’t hit the ball.

What encouraged the crowd in the morning was when Shreyas Iyer reached her maiden age, on the eighth day. He scored a ton of tests as he became the 16th Indian batsman to make his debut. He set many boundaries for Kyle Jamieson, some of which were streaked.

Southern masterclass

Despite Shreyas ’century, the morning session was not even Indian. Tim Southee (5 for 69) bowled so skillfully that the limits were better than his witchcraft in general. He rocked the ball, but also showed his mastery in sewing bowls, repeatedly trying to tempt the batsman by walking bowling in the corridor outside the bowling alley and using the fold well to create different angles.

Southe had mainly three types of submissions, with which he forced the batsman to make a mistake: some moved away (or entered) from them, some continued at an angle, and others were slightly corrected after the shot. Jadeja was the first to come out, with a post from the inside edge coming straight from the back with an angle around the wicket. He left a number of posts off the post, and was perhaps hesitant with his defensive blow, as he did not know whether the ball would be directed.

Wriddhiman Saha collapsed shortly after, leaving only numerous submissions on a disc made outside – a classic trap. Shreyas also couldn’t hold on to the puck and walked too early on his puck, driving the ball straight into the hands of the pitcher. It might have come a little slower. And then Axar Patel pitched and then succumbed in front of a slightly straightened one, staying in his slot and staying behind.

Southee had five supporters, his 13th in Test cricket and his second in India, and he returned his team well and truly to the competition. His fast-paced bowling partner Jamieson, unlike on the first day, was unable to make much of an impact despite getting the ball swing. Shreyas, and later R. Ashwin, gathered some limitations, the late incision made by Ashwin in 109 being the most spectacular of these strokes.

Ashwin also hit three boundaries from Southe, in the arch between the third man and the cover. Ashwin could have been sure against the players, but he was suspicious of the left arm spinner Ajaz Patel, who almost came out as a result of a flight when Ashwin was batting on the 16th.

But Ajaz didn’t have to wait forever to get a reward for his work in the end, he finally gave Ashwin the fox again, with a loopy delivery that was sharpened away after the shot; Ashwin, trying to play an inner blow, revealed the motorbikes, misjudged the route and bolted it. And Ishant Sharma broke the ball with his arm as the Indian innings ended at three overs after lunch.