SPORTS

Washington Sundar’s magnificent seven-wicket haul dismissed New Zealand for a total of 259 runs on the first day of the match.

Washington Sundar’s remarkable performance, achieving figures of 7 for 59, catalyzed a dramatic collapse for New Zealand, who slipped from a position of 197/3 to being all out for 259 on the first day of the 2nd Test in Pune. India concluded the day at 16 for 1.

This marked the first five-wicket haul for an Indian spinner at this venue, countering the half-centuries scored by Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra earlier in the day.

Sundar, who was added to the squad just days prior, replaced Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI. Additionally, India made two further adjustments to the team that had lost the first Test, with Akash Deep and Shubman Gill coming in for Mohammed Siraj and KL Rahul, respectively.

New Zealand commenced their innings with an aggressive approach, scoring a series of boundaries off Akash Deep, while Jasprit Bumrah maintained a tight grip on the scoring from the opposite end. The introduction of spin in the eighth over proved to be effective, as R Ashwin successfully trapped Tom Latham leg before wicket with a delivery that straightened slightly.

Throughout the majority of the first two sessions, despite the spinners being predominantly utilized, the batters found it relatively easy to accumulate runs without taking excessive risks. The pitch exhibited slowness, and the spin trio of Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar compensated for this by bowling at high speeds. They managed to beat the bat on several occasions and struck the pads multiple times, yet the batters faced little genuine threat.

Will Young’s dismissal was somewhat unfortunate, as a delivery from Ashwin spun past him and grazed his glove down the leg side. Sarfaraz Khan, positioned at short leg, noticed this and prompted Rohit Sharma to initiate a review. Nevertheless, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, who continued his good form from Bengaluru, ensured that the Indian spinners had to exert considerable effort to claim their wickets. Following the lunch break, Conway adopted an aggressive stance against Bumrah, driving a half-volley from the pacer to reach his half-century, and subsequently added a couple more boundaries in the same over.

Just as he appeared poised for a substantial innings, he chased after a half-tracker from Ashwin and edged it to the wicketkeeper, thereby conceding the offspinner his third wicket of the innings.

For a duration of 3 hours and 45 minutes, New Zealand appeared to be in a comfortable position despite the three dismissals. However, the situation took a dramatic turn 15 minutes before the Tea break, beginning with the dismissal of Ravindra, who was squared up and bowled by a sharply turning delivery from Washington Sundar. Shortly thereafter, Tom Blundell was bowled through the gates in the following over, which shifted the momentum in favor of India as they approached the break.

In the second session, the pace of the wicket allowed New Zealand to assert themselves, with Ravindra even stepping out to hit Jadeja for a six. The batters managed to handle the spin challenge effectively. However, the lack of moisture in the third session, combined with increased variation in pace from the spinners, led to a batting collapse. Washington, who consistently tested the off-stump with his off-breaks, capitalized on this collapse. Mitchell was trapped leg before, and Glenn Phillips was caught by Ashwin at long-off, while Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, and Santner all had their stumps disturbed, deceived by flight and turn.

Washington claimed 4 wickets in his last 4 overs, swiftly cleaning up the tail. All 10 wickets fell to offspinners. Despite the significant shift in momentum towards India, the hosts faced their own challenges in the closing moments of the day’s play. Rohit Sharma was squared up by a moving delivery from Tim Southee and was bowled for a duck.

Gill and Jaiswal remained unbeaten, though not without difficulty, as they headed into stumps on the first day of the second Test match in Pune.

Brief scores: New Zealand 259/10(Devon Conway 76, Rachin Ravindra 65; Washington Sundar 7/59, R Ashwin 3/64; India 16/1 Tim Southee 1/4)

(courtesy;samacharlive.co.in)