Twitter Reactions: Unbeaten half-centuries from Shreyas Iyer and Jadeja make it India's day in Kanpur

India ended Day 1 at 258/4.

By Aditya Gajanan Kukalyekar verified

View : 8.4K

4 Min Read

Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja
info
Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source:BCCI)

India ended Day 1 of the first Test against New Zealand on top scoring 258 runs for the loss of four wickets before play stopped due to bad light. Debutant Shreyas Iyer was the top performer of the day exuding his class in the middle while Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja slammed fifties as well to keep India in the ascendancy. However, the hosts had to work hard for their runs thanks to the fighting spirit showed from New Zealand bowlers.

After opting to bat first, India lost opener Mayank Agarwal early. Kyle Jamieson was rewarded for persisting with his outside the off-stump line and the batter finally nicked one after playing and missing a lot. Cheteshwar Pujara then joined Gill to forge a 61-run stand. Conditions eased down considerably after the first hour but Jamieson and Southee continued to find some movement from the pitch.

Gill looked his usual self playing aggressive shots and got to his half-century. He was also lucky as New Zealand didn’t review an lbw dismissal against him. Just when it looked like the man will announce his comeback in grand style, Jamieson broke a lot of hearts castling Gill. Southee sent back Pujara soon to leave India, kind of struggling at 106/3 in the second session.

Ajinkya Rahane, the skipper, was under pressure coming into this innings and with Pujara’s fall, the onus fell on him to guide the innings to safety. He started cautiously but then runs started to flow soon from his bat. A couple of authoritative drives were unfurled while the debutant Iyer also began to flourish after an extremely nervous start.

Once again, against the run of play, Rahane, when it looked like he will score big, lost his wicket playing one on to his stumps while on 35. It was that man again, Jamieson picking up his third wicket of the day as he continued to trouble the Indian batters.

Iyer and Jadeja save the day for India

At 145/4, with only all-rounders and a wicketkeeper to come and a debutant in the middle, New Zealand would’ve hoped to pick wickets at regular intervals. But it wasn’t to be. Shreyas Iyer gained confidence as he spent more time in the middle and he nicely blended caution with aggression while Ravindra Jadeja, batting ahead of Wriddhiman Saha, once again showed his worth with the bat.

He has taken his batting to the next level and the duo kept the Kiwis at bay. No wicket fell in the final session even as the two batters crossed the 50-run mark before the umpires decided to call it stumps due to bad light. Iyer and Jadeja have added 113 runs so far for the fifth wicket and are batting on 75 and 50 respectively.

Having posted 258 runs on the board already, India will be looking to reach the 400-run mark on the second day. The ball is already turning and staying low at times which will bring the Indian spinners into play early with the ball. New Zealand should be appreciated for doing well picking the top four wickets. But bowling India out has been challenging for the touring teams in India and it remains to be seen if they will be able to restrict India to below 350.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:

googletelegraminstagramwhatsappyoutubethreadstwitter

Download Our App

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS and Google Play Store
New Zealand