India vs New Zealand, 1st Test, Day 3 Stats Review: Axar Patel, Kyle Jamieson shatter records as the contest hangs in balance

The ongoing 1st Test between India and New Zealand has been nothing short of a roller coaster. Both sides have put up a stellar show and the game is pretty much poised at stumps on Day 3. Team India was 14/1 in their second innings at the end of day’s play, leading by 63 runs. With the track constantly deteriorating with time, it would be interesting to see how the remaining contest pans out.

Speaking of the proceedings of Day 2, the Kiwis resumed at their overnight score of 129/0. Tom Latham and Will Young continued their brilliant show and even looked all set to touch the three-figure mark. However, none of the two could reach the milestone with Indian bowlers making a bounce back. Axar Patel was the wreaker-in-chief for the home team, scalping yet another five-fer.

Ravichandran Ashwin also took three wickets as the Kiwis got bundled for 296, giving India a lead of 49 runs. However, the home team couldn’t make a strong start in their second innings as Kyle Jamieson dismissed Shubman Gill with just two runs on the board. With India ending the day at 14.1, the game is somewhat hanging in balance and both teams have a lot of work to do in the remaining days.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from India vs New Zealand, 1st Test Day 3:

50 – Kyle Jamieson became the fastest New Zealand bowler to take 50 Test wickets, achieving the feat in 9 matches. He went past Shane Bond, who got the feat in 12 games.

32 – Axar Patel’s tally of 32 wickets is the second-most by any Indian after four Test matches. Narendra Hirwani (36) tops the list.

2 – Axar also became the joint second-fastest bowler to claim five 5-wicket hauls in Test cricket, getting the feat in seven innings. He shares the record with Tom Richardson and Charlie Turner.

41 – With 41 scalps, Ravi Ashwin is now the highest wicket-taker in Test matches in 2021. He went past Shaheen Afridi’s tally of 39 wickets.

2 – Axar Patel became the second bowler after Hasan Ali to take five 5-wicket hauls in Test matches in 2021.

4 – In the 21st century, this was the fourth instance of both visiting team openers (Tom Latham and Will Young) scoring 80-plus in a Test innings against India in India.

2 – Latham and Young’s stand of 151 runs is the second-highest by a New Zealand opening pair against India in Test matches. Mark Richardson and Lou Vincent top the list for adding 231 runs for the first wicket against India.

100 – Latham and Young also recorded New Zealand’s first century stand by an opening pair in Test matches in 2021.

38.50 – Kane Williamson now averages 38.50 against India in Test matches, his lowest against a full-member side.

95 – Tom Latham recorded his highest Test score against India in Test cricket, 95.