Mumbai, Nov 1 (PTI) Ravindra Jadeja spearheaded India’s charge back into the contest with three wickets as New Zealand stumbled to 192 for six at tea on the opening day of the third and final Test here on Friday.
Jadeja (3/53) broke a stubborn 87-run fourth wicket stand between Will Young (71) and Daryl Mitchell (53 not out), while also accounting for Tom Blundell (0) and Glenn Phillips (17) to help India keep the visitors in check.
Jadeja’s effort was a reward for toil that the home team bowlers put in for a large part of the second session, with Young and Mitchell forging a sturdy stand.
At tea, the burly Mitchell was batting on 53 off 96 balls with three fours having thoroughly struggled in the heat and humidity to score his first fifty of the tour. He was accompanied by Ish Sodhi (1 not out).
If India had the momentum swinging their way with spinners Washington Sundar (2/50) and Jadeja coming to the fore towards the end of the morning session, it appeared lost due to the break as New Zealand resumed formidably.
Both Young and Mitchell blunted out the Indian spin threat with consummate ease, the sweep and reverse sweep being their go-to weapons as the two right-handers put the home team bowlers to a stern test once again.
Young continued his flourish as he brought up his fifty with a six off Washington to make steady progress, until Jadeja ended his steady march towards a possible triple figure score.
As both the teams reeled under the baking sun with humidity perhaps draining more out of the players than the heat, it was only a matter of time to see how long the visitors could maintain their resistance in such testing conditions.
Young, who hadn’t kept a foot wrong since his arrival in the middle showing attractive range of strokes combined with resolute defence, saw his innings end when Jadeja got one to spin away from his forward defence with the ball settling into Rohit Sharma’s hands at first slip.
With his tails up, Jadeja showed glimpses of finding his best as he cleaned up Blundell for a three-ball duck, hitting the timber by getting one to turn away from his defensive bat.
Phillips, who played for the turn with Jadeja’s delivery angling in, was cleaned up too.
With his three-wicket burst, Jadeja moved up to the fifth spot in the list of highest wicket-takers for India in Tests, leapfrogging former pace bowling teammates Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma, with 312 wickets.
Mitchell battled hard against both Indian bowlers and the weather since he appeared to be struggling the most with the conditions. In a session infused with frequent drink breaks for all players, Mitchell rarely missed an opportunity to consume fluids and even laid flat on his back. PTI DDV APA APA
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