Twitter Reactions: Axar Patel's five-wicket haul helps India eke out a crucial 49-run lead in Kanpur Test

The Indian spinners announced their comeback in a stunning way after going wicketless on the second day. Axar Patel led the way with a brilliant five-wicket haul while the other bowlers also chipped as India first restricted New Zealand to gain a crucial 49-run lead in the first innings. However, they also lost opener Shubman Gill in their second essay to end the day on 14/1.

Earlier in the day, Tom Latham and Will Young continued to be bat the same way keeping the opposition bowlers at bay. However, KS Bharat‘s brilliance behind the wickets led to the dismissal of Will Young on 89 which also broke the stubborn opening stand of 151 runs. Ravi Ashwin bowled a flatter delivery outside the off-stump. The batter looked to defend the ball only for it to get the outside the edge and for Bharat to take a good low catch.

Kane Williamson then walked out to bat and as usual, was in no hurry in scoring runs but kept the scoreboard ticking. Latham, at the other end, got lucky with India not reviewing an LBW call against him but he also batted well showing some excellent technique. The hosts though did well to not give away runs in a heap with great tight bowling.

It seemed as if the Kiwis will take the opening session having lost only a wicket. But new ball did the trick for India with Umesh Yadav nipping one back in sharply to catch Williamson in front of the stumps. The wicket instilled the belief in the Indian team and on the other side of the break, Axar Patel wreaked havoc with his left-arm spin.

Axar picks his fifth five-wicket haul

He sent back Ross Taylor thanks to a terrific catch from Bharat again behind the stumps and soon Henry Nicholls also walked back to the hut after missing the sweep shot only to be caught plumb off the same bowler. Runs were coming at a premium for New Zealand and the pressure was increasing constantly as well. With Latham approaching his century, the left-hander tried to maneuver the ball for a single by coming down the track.

But the ball from Axar turned a little bit more and Bharat completed a stunning stumping to catch Latham five short of a well-deserved ton. He faced 282 balls to score 95 runs with 10 fours to his name. With no set batter in the middle, it was always going to be tough for the visitors.

However, the last five wickets didn’t give up and kept getting close to India’s first innings total. Small partnerships were built for the last five wickets as New Zealand added 69 runs in 40.2 overs before getting bowled out on 296 runs. Kyle Jamieson showed his class with the bat again hanging in for 75 balls to score 23 runs while the tail-enders just spent their time in the middle.

Tim Southee’s dismissal gave Axar Patel his fifth five-wicket haul in his pretty short Test career. Ravi Ashwin finished the innings by castling Will Somerville which was also his third wicket of the innings while Ravindra Jadeja and Umesh Yadav scalped a wicket each.

The Indian openers Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal had to negotiate a tricky period before close of play. But Kyle Jamieson disturbed Gill’s timber off his first ball of the innings. However, Mayank and Cheteshwar Pujara made sure there were no more hiccups as India ended the day at 14/1 extending their lead to 63.

With the ball staying extremely low and spinning more now, any target around 170-200 runs will make the fourth innings for an interesting viewing. However, India would be hoping to post as many runs as they can to put the game beyond New Zealand’s reach.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: